Your Life and Mine
by patronus43
Summary: With the end of a war, some emotions build and some fizzle out. School boy crushes were for everyone but Fred, but why, then, was this one coming back to bite him?
1. Chapter 1

"But George, I don't want to!" I whined as George tried to pull me out of bed to get to work. I loved staying at the Burrow, but leaving so early to go into Diagon Alley to clean up the rubble and ruins of the shop was so not worth the hassle.

"You are not getting out of this. Look, mum's making bacon! Ugh, I'm so sick of having to wake you up. Fine. I'll just leave you here. Maybe Ginny and Harry will forget which room is theirs for their morning snog-fest again." This got me up. I love Harry, but seriously, he needs to grow a spine when it comes to that sister of mine. And _she_ needs to learn about the social acceptance of PDA.

"I thought that would do the trick. Now then, we need to leave in twenty minutes, so be down in ten. Why do I sound so much like mum right now? Do you see what you're doing to me?" George called over his shoulder as he left.

Honestly, I never thought I'd say this, but there are times that I can't wait for him to just marry Angelina already. Let me live my blissful single life and allow me to wake up at whatever time I please. Never the less, he had a point. The sooner we cleaned the shop up, the sooner we could re-open, which meant the sooner I was not trapped in my childhood home with every sibling and every sibling's significant other. It was times like this that I wished Charlie hadn't left for Romania. He knew the joy of not being tied down. No one else in this blasted house did.

By the time I did arrive downstairs, the kitchen was alive with activity. I paused at the door to figure out who had spent the night. I heard Harry's deep voice, followed by Ginny's bubbly laugh. And there was Penelope, jokingly admonishing Percy for working so much. Next, George talking about the best cleaning spells with mum. There was the voice I'd been waiting for- Ron mumbling something. There was a pause. For such a busy kitchen, I don't understand how it could get so silent while waiting to hear one voice. And then there it was. Hermione's sweet, gentle laugh. Shit.

"Morning, all! Beautiful day, isn't it? Thanks for the food, mum, looks delicious, George, we should get to the shop now, don't you think?" I walked through the kitchen as quickly as possible, doing my best not to even glance in her direction. I grabbed the bowl mum was holding out and started walking to the backyard.

"What's the hurry? I told you we had twenty minutes. You broke mum's poor heart." George said as he finally caught up with me.

"I just...I can't be in there and I can't explain. Can we please just get out of here?" By this time I'd finished the bowl of porridge and had already sent it back into the kitchen with my note of it's deliciousness.

"Fine, but you know that you'll have to explain at some point." With that, he apparated to the shop, with me not more than a few feet behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so what was with that little freak out this morning?" George asked as we were pausing in the clean up for lunch.

"It wasn't a freak out. I was just, er, eager to get here. Sooner we get the shop clean, sooner we aren't living at home anymore."

"You were not at all that eager when I woke you up. Are you sure this had nothing to do with a certain bushy haired Gryffindor at our breakfast table?" George gave me a knowing look. I stood up so quickly that I slammed my head into a board that was still leaning to the floor.

"What? Absolutely not. She's with Ron. Absolutely..." I trailed off as I remembered how she'd looked last night, sitting by the fireplace. The light gently illuminating the glimmer in her eyes as she spoke of all the opportunities that were now afforded her with Voldemort gone. Shit. I was too far gone with this girl, and George knew it.

"For the record, I don't actually think she's with Ron. I think that that's what he'd like us all to think, but they don't seem couple-y enough around each other. Then again, he did say how they'd kissed back at the battle, that's pretty intense. But still, it's just not...there."

"Yes, because that's so comforting. Come on, we both know he's had a crush on her since fourth year. What, suddenly he's just not interested anymore? They have this huge kiss and then nothing? No. So there are two solutions; either she doesn't come 'round the house anymore, or I spend as much time as possible cleaning this mess so that _I_ don't have to be 'round the house every bloody day." With that, I set the rest of my sandwich down and went into the backroom to finish cleaning. It was about an hour before I heard any movement from the front of the store, and was surprised to hear a voice I hadn't heard for ages.

"KATIE!" I ran from the back to the front door as quickly as possible, jumping over cleaning supplies, broken boards, and spilled displays to reach the girl at the front. I hadn't seen Katie Bell since that glimpse of her headed to the hospital wing after the battle. These past few months had been agonizing without my best girl to smack me out of my exceedingly stupid moments.

"FREDDIE!" She exclaimed as I picked her up and spun her around. "What have you been up to, Mister Most Eligible Bachelor?" She winked, referring to the Daily Prophet's article. There were much worse things she could be teasing me for, so I let it slide.

"Cleaning. A little building. Some inventing. Did I mention cleaning?" I joked as I gestured to the mess surrounding me.

"Well, we need to get you out of this slump. I'm only home for a few days, and you're going to enjoy yourself while I'm here. Meet me in Hogsmeade at 7. George, you too. We're having a reunion party!" With that, she threw her fist in the air and then slipped out the door, leaving George and I staring at each other with concerned looks. As big of party animals as we were, Katie took it to a whole 'nother level.

"Well, uh, guess we should warn everyone that we'll be home late tonight then, huh?" George laughed. He probably would not be home at all, if Angelina was coming. Maybe I should take advantage of this opportunity and try to keep myself from returning home too.


	3. Chapter 3

By 8:00, I was tipsy. By 9:30, I was a goner. We'd met up with Katie at The Three Broomsticks, which turned into quite the party on the weekends. All the tables were pushed back against the wall, and there was music blaring through the small bar. At the moment, Angelina and George were dancing, Lee and Alicia were trying to convince one of Madam Rosmerta's employees to give us all free drinks, and Katie and I were left at the table.

"Now her I'd like to go home with." I muttered as a tall blonde with ample curves cruised past.

"Oh come on, you're better than that," Katie responded. "Let's be honest here, if you're coming home with anyone, it will be me." I looked at her shocked. Certainly the alcohol in my brain was causing me to hear things. Katie and I had tried that once, and it had ended sort of badly. "Hey, not like that! I mean, you'll be so knocked out I wouldn't dare return you to Molly."

"Ah. Don't worry about that. I have no intention of going home tonight. Which is probably why I'm scouting lower than usual." Katie looked at me questioningly.

"You know, I could've sworn there was something wrong with you. Who's at your house that's making you act so weird? George mentioned that you were all in a rush to get out this morning. And you're usually _much_ more fun." Katie winked at this last statement. I stuck my tongue out. This is why I loved this girl. She was always capable of keeping what ever serious conversation we were having light hearted.

"I don't really want to...you know what? Hell with it. I've had enough to drink. GEORGE! I WANT TO TALK NOW!" He gave me a scathing look over Angelina's head, but thankfully she lead him over to us.

"You're timing is flawless." The sarcasm dripped from George's voice. "Not like I don't know the majority of the story. You first noticed her when she tried to stop us from putting our names in the goblet. Since then, she's flickered in and out of your thoughts. Then after the battle, when she became such a badass and suddenly so capable, you couldn't stop thinking about her. Then Ron starts bringing her 'round every other day, and she's driving you mad. But I'm telling you, THERE IS NOTHING BETWEEN HER AND RON AND I AM GOING BACK TO DANCE NOW." With that, he pulled Angelina back to the dance floor, leaving me with a shocked expression on my face and Katie cracking up beside me.

"Oh, oh, that's rich! You were so sure that no one knew what was going on! We've all known! George can't keep his mouth shut with that stuff!" I could barely understand her through her laughter.

"You know what? This has been fun. Really. But I'm going now." With that, I stood and left. I couldn't be in there for much longer, and I knew that leaving Katie with the other two couples wasn't really fair. She felt the same way I did with single-dom. But she could take care of herself. And she was also prowling. She'd have someone better to take home than me by the end of the night.

I wandered through the streets. I could still just barely pass as sober, so no one would stop me for public intoxication. (Not that that's _ever_ happened before.) Hogsmeade was a fun place to be at night. Especially at this time. Most everyone else was either in The Three Broomsticks or The Hogs Head, so the streets were fairly empty. I walked up and down, admiring how cheerful everything looked. The last time I was down here, there were no lights burning in any of the windows past sundown, and the entire street just had a gloomy air. Now, the lighted displays in Honeydukes burned brightly enough to light the whole street, and there was enough noise coming from the various taverns to bring a smile to any Death Eater's face. I wandered down to the empty shop closest to Hogwarts. It was where George and I wanted to open our Hogsmeade location, though that plan was set back a bit. We technically had enough money to open the shop, but with all the work we were putting into the store at Diagon Alley, getting it cleaned up, there wasn't much time to open the second location. George was worried someone would come in and take the Hogsmeade location if we didn't put a deposit on it soon, but I wasn't concerned. The store used to be home to a shop similar to Borgin and Burkes. Many people still believed that it was haunted with old ghosts and bad spirits. So that meant that no one would buy it, and people would be glad that a joke shop (something cheerful, to banish all the evil left in the store) opened. It was about 11:30 at this point. I still had no intentions to sleep at The Burrow tonight, but I didn't want to go back to my friends. For one, Katie would have a hard time forgiving me after storming out of there. For another, I suddenly was not in the party mood anymore. I was enjoying my time alone. And what better way to spend time alone than to be productive?


	4. Chapter 4

I wished that I'd paid more attention when mum was telling George about some of those cleaning spells. I only knew a handful myself, and this store was a bloody mess. We'd made considerable progress, but I couldn't see it getting any better anytime soon. Suddenly, I was just overcome with everything. I hadn't really had a moment to myself since the war ended, and all the emotions just kind of snuck up on me. The alcohol probably didn't help. The frustration, the pain, the grief that was associated with the war, mixed with the confusion of everything else just boiled out of me. I must have looked quite the sight, sitting there crying in my destroyed shop.

CRACK! I don't think I've ever moved so fast as when I heard someone apparate into the shop. My wand was out in front of me in a second, though I was still shaking with tears.

"Hello? Fred? Are you here?" I couldn't believe it. No. No no no no no! Here I was at the bloody crack of midnight, crying my eyes out like an idiot, and Hermione walked into the shop. "Oh my god, Fred! Are you okay? Was there someone else here?" Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness by that point and saw me standing with my wand pointed out at her on the steps leading to the back. I couldn't speak as she ran back towards me, wrapping her arms around me.

"Yeah, uh, no one else was here, I just, uh, _shit_. This is embarrassing. Why are you here? Not that the company is unwanted or anything..." She cut me off before I could keep rambling.

"Your mum's clock. She, Ginny, and I were still up and when she saw your hand go to 'work' she was a bit concerned. She and Ginny were too tired to come over and check on you, but I can't really sleep well anymore, so I volunteered. Although I fear that I was interrupting something?" She conjured a Patronus, probably to let mum know that I was fine, and sat down on the steps, gently pulling me down beside her.

"No, not interrupting. I got in a bit of a...tiff...with George and Katie and just wanted some time to myself. Figured might as well be productive. Then I got frustrated because this place is such a bloody mess, which made me frustrated at that whole damn war, which made everything else from the war come back." Though I'd managed to stop crying when she first came in, I could feel the tears coming back. "I must look like an idiot right now, huh?" I managed a slight laugh.

"Not at all. I've cried almost every night since it ended. That's why I sleep at The Burrow so often. Bringing my parents' memories back isn't going well. I'd cast the charm a little stronger than I'd meant to, so their old lives are buried pretty deep. It's lonely in my house. Especially at night. Your house, there's always so much..._life_. Even in my gloomiest moments, someone makes me laugh. Typically you." She added with a slight nudge. It made me smile, and her eyes brightened, before she glanced down slightly defeated. "Though I imagine that Ron would prefer me trying to sleep at home again." I looked at her shocked. Trouble in paradise?

"What? Why would he want his girlfriend sleeping somewhere else?" She looked up at me before busting out laughing. The confused look on my face only strengthened her laughter.

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I swear!" She said as she composed herself. "It's just, we're not dating. We tried it, genuinely did. But we're just, we're not right for each other. Ron's too unsure of his future, and I'm too sure of mine. We end up getting frustrated with each other whenever talking about anything more serious than what we'd eat for breakfast. No, I think he has his eye on someone, but it's not me." I've never heard better news in my life. I must have been grinning like an idiot. "So, would you like some help with the shop? I've gotten pretty good at some cleaning charms, plus I've got that muggle know how." She winked and stood, not waiting for a reply from me. That's one of the wonderful things about her. She does what she'd like to do, and rarely asks for permission from anyone else.

I sat and watched her cleaning for a few moments, thinking over the information she'd just shared with me. If she and Ron weren't dating, and she was just using the Burrow as a safe haven, then maybe I did stand a chance with her.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, Hermione? I think we've made enough progress here, plus, it's getting pretty late. We should probably head home." She looked up at the sound of my voice. We'd been working in silence for about an hour now, though she had charmed an old muggle radio to pick up some wizard station.

"Oh, wow! I hadn't even noticed what time it was! I'm sorry. You're probably ready to be rid of me." She started putting the supplies we'd dragged out back into the pile behind the cash register, looking rather deflated.

"Hey, I never said that! I've actually really like your company. You're okay with things being quiet. Sometimes I need that. But I don't want mum to stay up too late- even though you let her know that everything's okay, she won't go to sleep until we're home." I waited for her to join me before apparating back to the Burrow. "Hey, wait out here for just a second? You seem like you're not quite ready to go to sleep either." She nodded, and I ran into the house.

"Mum?" She had fallen asleep on the old armchair in the living room. I gently nudged her until she opened her eyes. "Hi. Hermione and I are home. Why don't you go up to bed? We'll be up shortly."

"Okay, Freddie. Just, be good out there, boy. She's still a little confused about Ron." With that very cryptic message, she kissed me on the forehead and headed upstairs. I grabbed some of the chocolate cake from dinner and a blanket and headed back outside, to the old Oak tree in the backyard where I knew Hermione would be sitting.

"I'm back." She looked up, slightly startled. She had pulled a book out from somewhere and had been reading when I snuck up on her.

"Oh! What's with all that?"

"Midnight snack?" More like three a.m. snack, but whatever. I laid the blanket out over the roots of the tree and set the cake down in the middle. Hermione summoned some forks from the kitchen (stupid me would forget them) and we sat down.

"Want to play a game?" she asked after a few moments of silence. I looked at her questioningly. "It's an old muggle game I used to play with my friends. Well, a take on an old muggle game. Called 20 questions. It's fairly self-explanatory. We each ask each other 20 questions-and you have to answer honestly. You get 2 passes, but you can go back later and answer them. Normally, I accompany this with a bit of alcohol, but I think you're pushing your limit."

"Ah, I don't have a limit." She gave me a stern look, and I couldn't help laughing. "Kidding, kidding. I know. Sound like this could be...interesting though. Sure, why not?" As attracted to her as I was, I did realize that it was currently mostly a physical attraction. I was craving to know everything about her anyway."

"Alright, then, I'll start. Hmmm." She sat, staring up into space for a few moments, puzzling over what to ask me. "Oh, here's one. A bit personal, though. Whatever happened between you and Katie?" I was a little shocked by this, and it must have read on my face, even in the dim light cast by our wands. "Sorry. It was all anyone could talk about in the common room for weeks after it happened. I tried not to eavesdrop, but, well, curiosity killed the cat."

"Huh?"

"Muggle expression. Sorry. Are you going to answer the question or pass?" Her eyes suddenly help a challenging look in them that was insanely attractive.

"No, no, I'll answer it. Well, hmm, how long ago was it now? Must've been sixth year. Wow." I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present. "Anyway. I'd originally asked Angelina to the Yule Ball, before realizing that George had a crush on her. When I found out that he was upset with me, I told Angelina that I thought she might have a better time with George, I think I said I was an awful dancer or some bull like that. I'm guessing that she'd started to get some feelings for him at that point, too, or she was far more gullible than I thought, because she agreed. I didn't want to go to the ball without a date, and that I knew of, Katie didn't have a date either. We were good enough mates that she understood my story, and wasn't offended by being my second choice. I had such a good time with her that I asked her out for a proper date a few weeks later. It went well for a little while, then I tried to move things a little too quickly for her taste. We got in a huge fight one night, and then didn't speak for the remainder of the year." She looked shocked at this. As far she knew, Katie and I were practically bomb proof. She had been too stressed with helping Harry in the tournament to remember how Katie and I had treated each other after that. "Yeah. It was rough. When we got back to school the next year, she pulled me aside and we had a nice little chat. She told me that she didn't actually get mad because of my, er, rushing things, but instead because she felt like even when I was with her, I was thinking of someone else." I'd forgotten about that part of the conversation. That's why she was so complacent about finding out about Hermione! She'd figured it out years ago. Little brat. I'd have to yell at her about that.

"Huh. Glad you're talking now. Weren't you with her tonight? I would have thought that with not seeing her for so long, you'd want to spend as much time with her as possible."

"Yeah, I was with her. George kind of aggravated me, and I was drunk, and Katie laughed at me, and I got mad for no reason and left. I'll go talk to her tomorrow. She probably won't even remember the fight. So it's my turn to ask a question, yeah?" She nodded. "Are you going to return to Hogwarts?" It was still summer, she still had the opportunity.

"I...I'm not quite sure yet. I've been told both by the Ministry and by St. Mungo's that I would be able to take up a position in either location without finishing. Part of me wants to return desperately. But part of me...thinks that that part of my life is over, you know? So much of me was destroyed with the castle, I can't imagine how it would really work out. Plus, Harry, Ron, and Neville have already started their Auror training. I guess there would still be Ginny and Luna, but...it just wouldn't be the same." With this, she sat up and stretched. "I'm sorry. Please don't think that you're boring me, I'm actually really glad that you asked that question. It's just, it's very late. Would you mind if we pause the game here?" She stood, looking down at me.

"Not at all. Good night, Hermione."

"You're not coming?" She looked concerned.

"I'll be in in a few minutes. It's a nice night." She stared at me for a few seconds more before retreating back to the house. I stretched, and curled into the nook I'd discovered at the base of the tree so many years ago and promptly fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke the next morning, confused, starving, and with a pounding headache. Slowly as I stood up and began the trek back to the house, the events from the night came flooding back, and I couldn't help but smile at how she'd looked with her eyes shining in the moonlight.

"Morning, dear, I was just about to send someone out to wake you. Any idea where your brother might be?" Mum asked as she set a plate packed with eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me.

"Probably stayed with Angelina last night. Er, do we still have any of that hangover potion Charlie left?" Normally I would buck up, but sleeping on the ground last night only intensified my headache.

"It's already mixed in with the orange juice." Mum said, sitting down across from me.

"Where's everyone else?" It was still fairly early on Sunday, most of the family would usually still be about.

"Let's see. Percy got called in to work, some issue with paperwork or something. Ron and Harry went to go play Quidditch out back, and I believe that Ginny and Hermione went out shopping with Luna. Speaking of..." She trailed off, staring at me.

"Yes? You're not George, mum, I can't read your mind."

"Well, you are aware that she and Ron are not really dating, right? We were talking about it last night. She thinks that he might be interested in Luna. And she certainly seems to have her eye on someone." She gave me a pointed look. "I'm not going to be a typical mom here and get super involved. But I want you to remember that she's been through a lot these past few years. If you're going to get involved with her, you need to realize she's looking for something long term, not a little fling."

"Er, well, yes, thank you for that advice. I'm just going to, uh, go shower."

"I'm just trying to be helpful! For gosh sakes, Fred Weasley!" She called after me as I went up the stairs.

**Hermione's Point of View**

"So what was up with you being out so late last night?" Ginny asked as soon as we were out of hearing range of the Burrow.

"I went to go find Fred, like your mum asked. He and Katie got into a little tiff, and he decided he'd just go work on cleaning up the shop. I stayed and helped for a bit, then we came home, and I went to bed." I hoped that she'd believe the little white lie at the end, but of course, she didn't.

"Really, that's why I saw you two sitting outside under the oak tree for a good hour."

"Ginny, it was at least four in the morning! Why were you awake?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" She fixed me with a meaningful stare.

"Ugh, no. Never mind. Look, the point is, we were just talking. It's nice to talk to someone sort of...new. Not that Fred is new, exactly, but, well, he didn't know me that well before the war. It's nice to talk to someone who knows who I am and my personality, but wants to get to know me now. I don't know, I'm not putting this into words well." I was also sure that my face was as red as a fire hydrant.

"Which is how I know that you like him." It was such a simple statement, but it was one of the reasons that I loved Ginny. She knew these little ticks in my personality so well.

"Fine. Yes. I like Fred. I've been trying to deny it though. It's an awful school girl crush that's sneaking up again because I've been spending so much time around him. Maybe I should start trying to find a place to live...Ron would certainly like that."

"Why are you so convinced that Ron suddenly hates you?"

"It's not that he hates me. It's just...he did have feelings for me at some point. And my pretty much living there isn't helping him to ignore the fact that he feels bad for not having feelings for me anymore, and the fact that he does have feelings for someone else." I gave her a look just as I saw the unmistakeable blond hair stepping out of Honeydukes. "Luna! Over here!" I called. As she turned, I saw how much she'd grown up over these past few months. Certainly we all had, but she especially. I also couldn't help but notice the dashing young gentleman that she was holding hands with.

"Neville! I didn't know that you'd be joining us." Ginny subbed in for me. We both knew what the next words out of Neville's mouth would be, but neither of us were exactly sure how to handle them.

"Sorry to interrupt your girls day, ladies, but, uh, Luna and I have some news for everyone..."

"What are we going to do?" I whispered to Ginny in the back corner of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes two days later. The work that Fred and I had done that night was amazingly a huge step, and the store was officially going to be re-opened in just one weeks time. The whole family, plus Harry and myself, had all offered to assist in re-stocking and putting the finishing touches up. It was the first time that Ginny and I had had a moment to ourselves since shopping.

"I don't know. Has he even really spoken to Luna since the battle? It's not like she's been round the house, or like he's really been out of it, save for his training. Maybe it's just a crush? Or maybe she's his rebound from you? There's a lot of pressure to be with someone in this house right now, and you know that Ron always wants to be one step better than someone else. Maybe he's just scared to not be interested in someone?"

"That could be it. But it's not like everyone in the house right now is involved with someone. Charlie isn't. And Fred."

"Charlie isn't living here, and it certainly seems to me like Fred won't be single for long." She winked and gave me a nudge. I just glared back. "Either way, it's not just his brothers. Harry's in a relationship, and we both know that even though he tries not to let on, he does compare himself to Harry quite a bit. Plus, he knows that Neville is dating someone."

"WHAT? You didn't tell me that!"

"Sorry! Keep your voice down. Harry said that Neville told them a few weeks ago when they were in training." I just stared at her incredulously. How could she not see the problem here? "He didn't say who he was dating!" Ginny put in quickly. "Just that he was seeing someone. Calm down."

"Ladies." My pulse immediately quickened and I focused very intently on wiping the dust from the shelves when Fred came up and threw his arms over our shoulders. "It's break time. Mum's got sandwiches. We're having a picnic in the front room!" With that, he dropped his arms and ambled easily back to the front of the store.

"Oh god. You're face is as red as his hair." Ginny snickered as she followed him. I sighed and followed them.

**Fred's Point of View**

I couldn't help but notice how she tensed when I put my arm on her shoulder. I also couldn't help but notice that she'd started using a new perfume. What was this girl doing to me? By the time I'd made it back to the front of the shop, mum had truly laid out a picnic blanket and was pulling out sandwiches, coleslaw, iced tea, all of the picnic essentials from her enchanted basket. I took my spot next to George, seeing Ginny sit down and curl into Harry a few seconds later. By the time that I realized where the only spot was left, it was too late. Hermione had already politely sunk onto her knees next to me, trying to take up as little space as possible, and certainly trying to put as much distance between us as possible. I gave George a look, which he returned with a shrug of his shoulders and a clever grin.

"So, the official grand re-opening party is happening tonight at Bill's place. You're all coming, yeah?" George said as soon as everyone had sat down, followed by a chorus of nods, yeahs, and general thoughts of agreement.

"Who else is coming, you know?" Ron asked, with his mouth half full of ham and cheese. Someone would have to teach that kid table manners at some point.

"Angelina, Lee, Alicia, Katie, Dean, Seamus, Luna," when her name was mentioned, Ron nearly choked on his sandwich. "Penelope, Verity, hmmm, oh, and Neville." I couldn't help but notice the look of panic that shot between Hermione and Ginny when I said Neville. "Am I forgetting anyone George?"

"Probably. Bill did most of the invites. His house and all."

"Speaking of which, he asked me to pass on the dress code." Hermione suddenly said. Everyone looked at her incredulously. "What? I was the only one home when he stopped by the other day, I told you all that! I just forgot the bit about the party until you just mentioned it. Anyway, he said that he knows it's a party to celebrate you both," gesturing to myself and George, "but that he really wanted it to really be a celebration, so it would be nice if everyone got a bit dressed up. He said that he put it on the invitations that he sent to everyone else."

"Well, that ruins my plans of bringing Teddy. Thought it would be a good chance for him to see everyone again. Plus, I'd told Andromeda that I'd take him off her hands one day this week..." he started to trail off.

"I could babysit him if Andromeda needs a night off. Not that I don't want to attend the party," Hermione didn't know that she was slowly breaking my heart with this sentence. "But I'm sure that Andromeda would appreciate the peace and quiet for a bit."

"No, Hermione, Harry, that won't be necessary. Harry, bring him anyway! It doesn't matter what the dress code is. I say he can come. Besides, that way Victoire will have someone to play with." Harry brightened with this. He really loved his godson, and truly enjoyed spending time with him. Hermione, however, deflated a little. I got the feeling that she'd been looking for a way out of the party. I just wasn't sure why.

**Hermione's Point of View**

I had no idea what to wear to this damn party. Why did Bill have to have everyone dress up? This is the Weasley's we're talking about! All more comfortable in jeans and sweaters than button downs and ties. I'd pulled half of my wardrobe out of what I'd had at the Burrow, but nothing seemed right.

"Ginny! Ginny, are you in there?" I pounded on her bedroom door.

"Yes, darling? While you're here, could you zip me?" She looked beautiful, in a pale blue sweetheart dress that just skimmed her knees. Her normally straight hair was curled, and she'd pinned her bangs back. "Why aren't you dressed?" She exclaimed once she turned around.

"I don't know what to wear! I don't think I have anything with me that quite fits the occasion." She and I walked back to the small room that was once Charlie's, where'd I'd been staying. She surveyed the clothing I'd pulled out, and the few items that were still left in my suitcase. My dress from the Yule Ball, and the dress from the wedding were both there, but both seemed too formal. And everything else wasn't dressy enough.

"You're right. Nothing here is quite right...You want me to go back to your house with you?" She knew that I had a hard time going back there. Everything was so...empty. What used to be a home filled with so much love was currently an empty shell of broken memories. But it's not like I took my entire wardrobe with me when I'd left at first, and when the war had officially ended, I'd moved back in as quickly as I could, thinking that it would take a simple reversal spell to bring my parent's memories. It hadn't.

"Please." I whispered quietly. With that, she ran down the steps, letting Molly know where they were going, and that they'd meet everyone at the party, grabbed her bag, and we apparated to my room in my house.

Immediately, Ginny went to the closet to see what she could find.

"Start doing your hair, at least. Seeing as it takes a day and half." Her light heartedness made being here so much easier. As I turned on the light above my small vanity and began running the 8000 different potions that my hair required to look presentable, I heard her murmuring her thoughts on my clothing. Finally, just as I was finishing pinning my hair back into the curled style I'd had for the wedding, she emerged, holding a dress in a garment bag that I was sure I'd probably never worn.

"This." As she whisked the bag off of the dress, I knew that she was right. I also knew that I didn't want to wear it. It wasn't that I'd never worn it, on the contrary, it was probably my favorite. But it brought back too many memories. "I'm sorry, Hermione, is this not supposed to be worn?" She looked so concerned, that I felt awful at my teary eyes.

"No, no, it is. It's just...it's my mums. She'd given it to me for a Christmas dance sixth year. She'd worn it on her and my dad's second date, and told me that it had special qualities. No boy would be able to take his eyes off of me, and the boy I liked would fall for me in an instant. Muggle magic, she'd said. She didn't know that the boy I liked was still at Hogwarts, but she'd been right about no boy being able to take his eyes off of me."

"Which is exactly why you need to wear it tonight. Think of it as having your mum as your wing woman all night. Now go, change, now." Ginny said, as she pushed the dress into my hands and started going through my jewelry box.

When Ginny and I arrived at the party, I knew my mum's dress still held it's Muggle magic. The pale pink fabric clung to my slight curves, but still left plenty to the imagination. As soon as we'd walked into Bill's house, every boy there turned to watch us. I could see Harry taking in the sight of his beautiful girlfriend, and Ron looked slightly embarrassed at seeing his sister and his ex-girlfriend all dressed up like this. The person's reaction that I hadn't thought to gage was suddenly right in front of us, though, and he was enough to take my breath away. I had forgotten how well Fred Weasley cleaned up.

"Can I take your coats, ladies?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm really actually unhappy with how the party went about. I had an idea of how I wanted it to end, and I knew I needed to incorporate the things that I did, but it's not exactly as I wanted it. Regardless, I have lost too much sleep editing this chapter, so this is what it is. I promise that things come together better in the next chapter!**

**Thanks for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews! This is my first story that I've been brave enough to put up here, so it means a lot!**

* * *

**Fred's Point of View**

Holy hell did she look beautiful. I don't think I'd ever seen anyone light up a room as instantly as she did. I barely wanted to speak to her for fear of embarrassing myself, but I could tell that she was slightly uncomfortable with everyone staring at her.

"Can I take your coats, ladies?" Ginny was actually the only wearing a coat, but Hermione seemed grateful for the distraction. At least, I think she was. Really she just gasped slightly and then averted her eyes from mine.

"Thanks, Fred, but I've got it. Hermione, want me to take your bag?" Dammit, Ginny. She knew. Of course she knew. She was the only girl in the house, she always knew about these sorts of things.

"Ah, no, I can take it." Hermione whispered, barely audible. But Ginny either didn't hear, or didn't care, because she simply dislodged the strap of the bag from Hermione's slightly shaking hands and walked off, hair bouncing with every step. She was clearly enjoying this.

"You look beautiful, Hermione." I told her as I took her arm and escorted her into the party. I hadn't seen her all dressed up since the wedding, but I didn't remember her so quiet and timid there.

"Thank you, Fred. You look quite handsome yourself. Sorry we were a bit late." It appeared she was picking up her confidence.

"No need to apologize. There are still plenty of people absent. Katie, Alicia, and Angelina are all getting ready together, so they certainly won't be here for another hour. And Harry said that Neville got caught up in training-"

"Oh! I need to talk to you!" Suddenly she gripped my arm and steered me towards the kitchen, away from everyone else. "Look, you remember how I told you that I thought that Ron had his eye on someone, but it wasn't me?" Her voice had dipped towards a whisper again, but there was a sense of urgency to it.

"Yeah, he's got a crush on Luna, I know." Her eyebrows shot up in shock. "Mum told me. Sorry, is it a secret? And why is this such a problem?"

"No, not a secret. And it's a problem because Luna isn't available." It was my turn to look shocked. Luna was a pretty girl, certainly, and sweet as could be, but she was a tad bit too...out there for me to expect her to pick up a boy so quickly. "She's dating Neville. Truth be told, we were all kind of wondering when it would happen, but it has. And Ron knows that Neville is dating someone, but he doesn't know that it's Luna. I just don't want anything to happen to, ah, ruin the atmosphere should Ron find out."

"Well, we are not responsible for my dear brother's actions. And if he decides to throw a tantrum here, he'll have mum to deal with, so all should be okay. And if it's not, it's not. I don't want my good time to be ruined worrying about him. And you shouldn't either! C'mon, let's go dance."

"Wha-" She started, but I didn't give her time to think. I knew that she'd just argue if I didn't act quickly, so I grabbed her hand and practically dragged her back to the living room, where Bill had some old records playing. Ginny and Harry were dancing with Victoire and Teddy, spinning and twisting around the floor. I swung Hermione so that she was facing me, placing my hand on her hip and stepping in time to the music. Crap. I had not had enough to drink for this. But then I looked down at her face, which had broken into a huge grin. Finally. She's having fun.

"Mind if I cut in?" Seriously? Right when Hermione had relaxed into me, someone had to go and interrupt. Then I noticed who was asking.

"I was just about to go play with Teddy. Nice to see you, Katie!" Hermione stepped politely out of my arms and walked to the other side of the room where Ginny was sitting with Teddy.

"If you were anyone else, I might deck you right now."

"Oh, I know. But I do actually need to talk to you." For the second time that night, I was being dragged off to the kitchen.

"What in the world do you need to talk to me about? Is this still about the other night? I'm sorry. I was a jerk. A drunk jerk, that should be thought of before you hold this silly little grudge, but I was a jerk."

"This is not about the other night, though I do accept your, well, kind of apology. But believe it or not, Mr. Weasley, not everything is about you." Her teasing tone could match mine any day. "No, I'd intended to talk to you about this the other night, but we both got too wrapped up in other things for me to bring it up. Do you remember Cormac McLaggen? He was Harry's year. Competed with Ron for-"

"Yes, Katie, I remember him. Right little git. Super full of himself. Why?"

"Er, well. We met up when he was being scouted. We were both being evaluated for Puddlemere. Anyway, he remembered me from Hogwarts, and was certainly not feeling so full of himself, I think Wood scared him quite a bit. I felt bad for him, so I invited him to dinner with some of the other team members. We chatted, got along quite well."

"Katie. Where is this story going?" I knew exactly where it was going. I just wasn't quite sure why she was so scared to tell me.

"This story is going exactly where you think it is Fred. It's been quite a while since we've seen each other, and it didn't seem the type of thing to tell you over letter. I'm engaged, Freddie. And I was hoping that you'd come for dinner with us sometime before I have to leave for training." Okay. The engagement was not exactly what I was expecting. I figured they were dating. The last time I'd heard of Cormac, he was interested in Hermione, who was using him to make Ron jealous. It was a lot to take in.

"Of course I'll go to dinner with you guys. Katie, I'm so happy for you!" I exclaimed, picking her up and swinging her around. "Why didn't you bring him tonight?"

"Actually, she did." I just about dropped Katie from shock, turning to see Cormac standing in the doorway. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Cormac McLaggen. Nice to finally meet you." He put his hand out. Certainly seemed less git-like.

"Same here." There was suddenly a loud cry from the living room. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I have a very bad feeling that a prediction just came true."

Sure enough, as soon as I walked into the living room, Ron was seen facing off with Neville, who seemed none too interested in Ron's pity jealousy.

"Ron, it does not concern you who Neville dates!" I suddenly realized that Hermione was standing between the two boys, and Harry was holding Neville back. Huh.

"It does concern me when he starts dating the girl he knows I fancy!"

"And you've known that he's fancied the same girl for years! Stop being so selfish!" Ah, Harry's logic. Gotta love it.

"Besides which, all those years Neville was interested in Luna, you were moping about Hermione. And as you were leading everyone at home to think that you two were still an item..." I let my sentence trail off, knowing that it had the desired effect. Ron turned away from Neville and instead pointed his wand at me. This, finally, got mum's attention.

"Ronald Weasley! We are trying to celebrate your brothers' achievements! You will not ruin this party!" Finally, someone else was being dragged off to the kitchen. I smirked, following my mum's retreating back when I felt someone slide up beside me. Hermione looked up at me expectantly.

"Told you so." We both said at the same time. She looked startled for a minute, before laughing.

"He's a piece of work, huh?"

"That's an awfully polite way of putting it. Where's Teddy?" I suddenly realized that neither youngster was to be found, and they were pretty much the life of the party.

"Too late for him to be up. Fleur put him to bed in Victoire's room to sleep until Harry's ready to leave. Everything okay with Katie?"

"Yup. Just wanted to tell me that she's been engaged."

"That's so exciting! To whom? "To me." Bloody hell, this guy was good at sneaking up on people.

**Hermione's Point of View**

Well, Cormac was certainly the last person that I expected to see. Katie seemed so sure of herself, certainly she couldn't fall for such a self-absorbed, brainless little git?

"Cormac! How, er, lovely to see you. Congratulations on your engagement!" I hoped my smile was believable. "Fred, would you like to dance?" Actually, I had no desire to embarrassingly dance with Fred Weasley again, but I needed to get out of this awkward situation. Fred, to his credit, looked slightly shocked.

"Sure. Nice to see you, Cormac." He threw over his shoulder as I led him back to the makeshift dance floor. Of course, the music switched to a slow song as soon as we reached it. I groaned inwardly, but Fred just took it all in stride, as he placed his hands where they ought to go.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure there are other things you'd rather be doing at your party. I've taken up too much of your time already."

"Hermione, I would not have come over here with you willingly if I did not actually want to dance with you. Though, I must say, at some point, I'd like to take our game off pause." She looked up, confused, before she remembered. I think that she might have hoped I was too drunk that night to remember the game. "But now isn't really the time or place."

"Sorry to cut in, guys, but can I borrow Hermione for a second?" Really, was everyone going to prevent me from having a good time tonight? "Ron is causing a bit of an, er, situation outside, and we could use an extra hand." I apparently had no choice, so I watched as Harry and Hermione walked right out the front door. I had to wonder if she'd come back.

**Hermione's Point of View**

My mum's dress must be running low on its magic. While certainly I was gaining more, well, appreciative stares then normal, Fred seemed no closer to falling in love with me than Ron seemed capable of not being a jealous git.

"Sorry, Hermione. I know this is the last thing you want to do, but we can't let him go back in there." Something told me that Ginny had squealed to Harry about my feelings. If it had been anyone else, I'd be angry, but I could have only kept it from Harry for so long anyway.

"It's alright. So what's he doing exactly?"

"See for yourself." And I certainly did. Ron was apparently still angry from before, and had pulled Luna away from the party to convince her that she belonged with him. Poor Luna. She would put up with all of his craziness before being rude to him.

"Ronald Weasley!" I put on my best Molly voice. "Let that poor girl get back to the party."

"Not until she realizes that I'm better for her!" Oh dear lord.

"And how do you think that holding her out here against her will makes you seem like the better man? I mean really. Besides, I'm fairly certain that just last year you were among the rest of us cheering for them to get together." He tightened his grip on Luna's arm and she let out a small whimper. This was not going well. Maybe I was taking the wrong approach. I threw a furtive glance behind me to Harry, but he was no where to be found. He better have gone to get me Ginny, or he'd have more curses to respond to then I could think of at the moment. "Ron, please, you're hurting her." I changed my tone of voice to the tone I'd used whenever he had the locket on. And then I thought of the only thing that I could think of to get him to let go of her. I walked up behind him, placing my hands around his waist and letting my head fall onto his shoulder. He stiffened, but he didn't move, and I felt his death grip on Luna's arm lighten. I stood onto my tiptoes to murmur into his ear, "Really, Ron, are you sure that you want her? You could have me."

"But, but, but, you said-" I cut him off as he released Luna and spun him to face me. I saw Harry running out of the house with someone else, but my only focus was to make sure Luna could get back inside. So I did the only thing that I could think of.

"I know what I said, Ron, but I didn't mean it. I meant this." And with that, I pulled his lips down to meet mine. And as soon as I did, I realized what a terrible mistake I made. Because once Ron's face moved, I realized who Harry had run outside with. And it was not Ginny.

* * *

"He won't even look at me, Harry. And Ron won't let me out of his sight for more than a few minutes. I wish he realized I was lying. I wish that he realized that every action I have towards him is forced. There is very little love for him, right now, actually, mostly what I'm feeling is disgust. But what can I do, Harry? If I break up with him, he'll just go back to trying to destroy Luna and Neville."

"But he's destroying your happiness, Hermione." I shot up, startled. I hadn't even realized that George had come outside. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you two. I was walking out here to get to the shop, and saw you sitting here. Mind if I sit?" He didn't wait for Harry and I to answer, simply sank down on the steps next to me.

"George is right, Hermione. Before this happened, you were the happiest that I've seen you in months. And now, it's almost like you're wearing the locket all the time. Especially when Ron or Fred is around."

"HARRY!" My head sank into my lap. How could he say that with George right there?

"It's alright, Hermione, I already know. Most everyone does after the party, actually. Well, those that don't know that you're dating Ron right now." Great. How was this supposed to make me feel better? "But I think I can help you with your Ron situation. But you have to promise to trust me." The shock I was feeling must have read on my face. Whenever a twin asked you to trust them, something bad generally happened. "I promise you that this causes no physical harm. Emotional, possibly, but it will work. Though I can't tell you what it is...it could jeopardize everything."

"Then tell Harry. If he's okay with your plan, then I trust you."

"Well then. Harry, would you be so kind as to accompany me to the shop? There's someone else there that we need to involve." And I sat on the steps while the two of them walked to the apparition point and disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

**Fred's Point of View**

No matter what I did to not think about that night, it rarely left my brain. She said that she wasn't interested in him! She told me that it would never work between them! It didn't help that George was choosing now to be MIA almost constantly. The store was open, but he was always leaving me to tend to the customers so that he could "run errands." He'd yet to tell me what those errands were, though, and I felt strangely alone. Then there was Katie. I'd had dinner with her and Cormac, just as I'd promised, but it was slightly awkward. I mean, he seems like a good enough bloke, but somehow I always pictured Katie sticking to single-dom for at least as long as I did. And here I was thinking she was scouting the other night! Ugh. I need to get out of my own head.

CRACK. Thud. I turned around to see George helping Harry up off the floor of the back room, where he had landed in an empty box we'd been storing the test potions in.

"Sorry, still a bit of a mess back here. Oy, Fred! Why don't you close up for lunch? We need to chat." I was in no mood to chat with him. Plus the store was a welcome distraction. Still, he wouldn't have brought Harry out here if he hadn't a good reason. So I locked the door and headed to the back room, where George had summoned sandwiches and sodas.

"What can I help you with? Here to be a new test subject? And here I thought auror training was going so well." I teased Harry.

"I was under the impression that there was a potion that would keep my best friends from killing each other."

"Ah, not so simple as that, Harry dear. This is a very elaborate plan, but I daresay that I'll need an extra hand. Which is why I've come to you, oh brother. Think you're up for a little pranking?"

"Depends who we're getting and who we're harming." I may be angry at Hermione, but I had no interest in hurting her.

"I promised no physical harm would befall anyone. Just emotional."

"But that's worse!"

"Not in this case, listen..." And so George divulged the plan. And what an excellent plan it was.

* * *

"You're absolutely positive that she has no interest in Ron and is only doing this to keep him away from Luna?" I hated how insecure she was making me.

"Positive. No backing out now. We're in too deep." Poor Harry. He didn't understand that you were never in too deep to back out. You just had to have a stop plan. Which I doubted George had. So I guess Harry was right. Shit.

Mum was the easiest part of the plan. You didn't have to do much to convince her to have everyone over for dinner. Harry walked into the living room and took his seat on the couch next to Ginny, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her onto his lap. PDA team one: in motion. Ron, who was sitting on the couch next to Ginny, made a move to pull Hermione onto his lap in a similar fashion, but she stood up.

"I think I'm going to go see if Molly needs help with dinner." Oh no you don't.

"I just came from being kicked out of there. She said everyone's to stay in here until she calls us." I entered the living room, stopping Hermione in her tracks. She scowled, and made a move to sit in the chair closest to the door, but I plopped in it first. She had no choice but to go back to her seat next to Ron. I returned her glare with the most innocent smile I could muster.

"Fred, where's George?" Ginny had been let in on phase one of the plan, since so much of it involved her. We'd taught her well, she was acting her part flawlessly.

"Should be here in a minute, went to go get Angelina." It was hard to keep a straight face when talking to Ginny, with Harry nuzzling his face in her neck and tickling her sides. But it was having the desired effect on Ron; he was doing everything he could to enact some sort of moment with Hermione, but she really wasn't having it.

"Someone looking for me?" Right on schedule, George walked in with Angelina, who was all dolled up. I think this part of the plan was just a selfish ploy on George's part, but I wasn't going to get involved. He pulled Angelina towards him and dipped her low into a deep kiss that caused Ron to re-double his efforts with Hermione. Really, the boy was so transparent. Hermione, for her part, was clearly done.

"Excuse me for a moment." She edged past the make out session still happening at the door and headed upstairs. Perfect.

When George and Angelina came up for air, he gave me a pointed look before plopping down in the loveseat. Ginny slid off of Harry's lap to rest her head comfortably on his shoulder. Ron, for his part, looked part embarrassed and part furious.

"So, little brother, how are things with Hermione?" George turned to face Ron.

"Smashing, really. Don't know why I was ever interested in Luna in the first place. Hermione and I, we just hit a rough patch. Doesn't everyone?" He laughed nervously, clearly wanting to avoid the topic, but George wasn't letting up. As he continued to pester him with questions about his new relationship, I slipped out into the kitchen.

"Need any help, mum?"

"Would you mind cutting up those vegetables?" As I started she paused. "I don't know what you boys are up to, and I'm not saying that I condone it in the slightest. But if it will get all of this awkward romantic tension out of my house, then by all means." She stepped over to me, putting her hand on my shoulder. "I stand by what I said before, dear. She's not interested in him. She's doing this to protect her friend. And it would be good of you to remember that no matter what happens, I think that she's looking for someone to protect _her_." She gave me a peck on the cheek before turning back to the stove on the pot. We worked in comfortable silence for a while, before the timer dinged. "Why don't you go gather everyone else, dear? Everything's ready." Well, not everything. But that would wait until after dinner.

* * *

"It was delicious as always, Molly. Thank you so much for inviting me." Though Angelina and George had been dating for years now, she still was overly polite to mum. She'd need to be pranked next. Really welcomed to the family.

"Thank you, Angelina, dear. So glad you could join us with your training schedule. Speaking of which, did you all see Katie at the party? I had no idea she was engaged! We'll have to throw her a party."

"Mum, I really doubt that that will be necessary. Besides which, I would imagine that her own family would throw her a party." Sometimes mum forgot that not everyone of our friends was practically an orphan that needed an extra mum.

"I suppose you're right. Still, it would be nice to see her round here again. For years, I thought that she and Freddie here would end up together." I shot her a look. Did she not remember what she'd been pestering me about just before dinner? "Oh, stop. Clearly you ruined that before it could even take shape."

"Mum!" I mean really. And the woman wondered where we got our "teasing nature" from.

"Would anyone like tea?" She started to rise and clear the table.

"Oh, Molly, sit. I'll clear the dishes." Who knew that Harry would be so good in this plan. "George, why don't you get tea started?" As George stood, the shocked look on mum's face shifted to one of understanding. Clearly she remembered our conversation before dinner. She couldn't really think that bothering Ron was enough. There were some other confused looks around the table, though one person was noticeably quiet. Hermione had barely said a word all through dinner, and didn't seem to be aware that anything was going on until Harry accidentally elbowed her when he went to take her plate. When she looked up, her eyes went straight to me, and I think she was a little surprised to see me staring back at her. Her cheeks flushed immediately and she went back to looking at her hands.

"Fred, could you help me over here?" George had put the water on to boil, but was searching his pockets furtively. I remembered that the vial was in my coat pocket in the front hall.

"Sure, give me just a second. Just need to grab the, uh, special tea leaves we brought for everyone." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harry shoot the bag of tea leaves he'd pulled out of the pantry behind the kettle on the stove. The vial was small enough to hide in my pants pocket, and I couldn't help but notice the confused look on Ginny's face when I re-entered the kitchen. "Seems we forgot them, George. What a shame. Anyway. Tea for all then?" I didn't give anyone a chance to argue. George was already pouring the tea into cups.

"The two on the left." He whispered in my ear as he started carrying cups and saucers to the table. I shifted the cups so that my body was blocking them, slipped the vial out of my pocket, and slipped two drops of the potion into each cup. I waited until George had taken a cup out for everyone else before carrying the two to Ron and Hermione. Everyone was getting lax- no one even thought to look suspicious of the tea. Maybe it was because Harry helped.

George took a sip first. He made some comment to cover up my tea story, something about how we didn't need it anyway. My eyes were focused only on Ron and Hermione. Neither suspected anything. After they had each taken several sips, I tapped George on the knee under the table. He looked over at Harry, who gave a slight nod in understanding.

"So, Harry, how's training going?" George asked cooly.

"Quite well, actually. It amazes me how much Neville has improved since he started in the DA. Who would have thought that he'd be one of the most promising future aurors? Isn't that right, Ron?"

"He certainly is talented, but I think his drive is more admirable." A funny look crossed Ron's face. Clearly he had been intending to say something nasty about Neville. George gave me another nod. The Veritaserum had taken effect.

"So happy about him and Luna. I mean, really, it took them long enough, am I right?" I leaned back in my chair, as everyone else gave a nervous laugh. No one had brought up Luna's relationship with Ron around.

"I'm certainly glad that Neville finally plucked up the nerve. Aren't they cute together, Ron?" Harry asked.

"Er, uh." It appeared as though Ron was trying to fight what his brain was telling him to say. "Yes." He finally strangled out. Now everyone around the table really looked shocked.

"Ron, I'm so glad that you feel that way! Seeing as you seemed so interested in ruining their happiness a few short days ago." Ah Ginny. She had clearly caught on by now.

"I. I. I didn't want to ruin their happiness! Luna was single and she's pretty and she's sweet and nice and everyone else around here is so obviously in love and I couldn't handle being single anymore and she was the first one that I thought of that everyone would approve of!" Ron's hand shot to his mouth, and everyone looked at him shocked. Yes. Phase two, complete.

"But now you have Hermione again, Ron! You don't need to worry about being single anymore." This had the desired effect.

"No, he doesn't." The look on everyone's face was priceless, but either Hermione had figured out our trick or she simply didn't care about what she was saying. "I'm sorry, Ron. But I only did those things to get you to leave Luna and Neville alone. I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in you."

"I. I'm not interested in you, either. You were a-a-a safety net of sorts. I'm sorry." Ron obviously did care about what he was saying, but Hermione's eyes softened, and Ron relaxed into his chair, puzzled over what had just happened.

"So, are you interested in anyone Hermione?" What? No, mum! She, she would hate me if she said it at the table! No!

"I think I might be, Molly, but I'm not going to say who." Yep. She'd definitely figured out what we'd put in her tea. She knew that unless someone directly asked her who, she wouldn't be forced to say it. "I hate to be rude, but would you mind if I was excused? It's such a nice night out, and I think I need a moment to clear my head." Mum nodded, and Hermione gave me a slight look before heading out the back door. Mum gave a slight jerk of her head, and nudged my shoulder.

"Er, I think I might follow her."

* * *

"Hermione? Are you going to speak to me?"

"Well. If you'd like to un-pause the game now, you'd definitely get an honest answer out of me." I'd found her sitting under the oak again, with the same book she'd had the other night. I expected her to be much angrier than she appeared to be. Still, couldn't help but to be careful.

"Would you like to un-pause the game? I believe that it was your turn."

"Alright then. What made you do all this?" Such a harmless but loaded question. I should probably use a pass. But then again...

"You seemed so unhappy. It was heart breaking to see." She looked shocked, but if I stopped now I wouldn't be able to finish, so I plowed on. "For the last year and a half, whenever anyone saw you, you were either stressed, scared, or just generally angry. It had been a long time since anyone saw you genuinely happy. But then the war ended, and you were with Ron, and suddenly your smile, and your laugh reappeared and it was a beautiful sight. Sure, you still had moments of stress, but it wasn't the same tense, panicked stress. And then this whole Luna/Ron thing happened, and suddenly, you were back to having a constant state of gloom surrounding you. I couldn't stand it anymore." She didn't say anything. "Well, you don't have to look so shocked."

"I just, I didn't think that you noticed me that much. But thank you, for doing that. You saved me a whole lot of trouble, trying to disentangle myself from that. You can sit down, you know. I'm not angry. George told me that he had a plan. That's how Harry got involved. I'd told George that if Harry was okay with it, then I would be." I sunk onto the ground so that I was facing her. Our knees just barely touched, but I could feel an almost unbearable amount of electricity flowing through the small empty space. "Though I think that Harry would have been okay with a lot of things I might not have been. But I was pleasantly surprised with this plan. It wasn't your typical over done showy magic. Instead, it was psychological teasing and simple potions. Brilliant."

"It was George's idea to do the little PDA bit before dinner. That's really the only part of the plan he'd come up with. But Harry and I agreed that it wouldn't be enough. The VeritaSerum was my idea."

"It was brilliant. How much did you put in? Just so I don't go visiting any of my enemies tonight." The twinkle in her eyes had returned. It was a beautiful sight.

"Just two drops."

"So if you were ask me a question right now, I would be able to lie."

"If you wanted to break the rules of the game, yes, yes you would."

"Fred, will you ask me the same question that Molly asked me at dinner?"

"Will you lie?"

"When have I ever been a rule breaker?" Erm. All of her seventh year. And all six years before that. Still. She was the one in the vulnerable position here.

"Are you interested in anyone Hermione?" I saw her shut her eyes and take a deep breath. I realized that I wasn't breathing. Finally, she opened her eyes, and fixed them firmly on my face.

"Yes, Fred. _You_."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updates! I've had prom and senior stuff these past few days, and pair that with a bit of writer's block as to how to lead into the next couple of things, and you've got a bad delay. This is a short chapter, but I wanted to get something up. I'll have more within the next day or so, I promise!**

**As always, thanks for the alerts/favorites/reviews. **

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**Hermione's Point of View**

That cheeky little jerk! How dare he kiss me like that, then sashay back into the house! He did! He bloody _sashayed _back into the house! And he knew how angry that would make me. Why have I been so interested in him all these years?

_Because he can aggravate you like no one else can_. The voices in my head knew the answers. They also knew that with one kiss, Fred Weasley had made me happier than I'd been since the war ended.

"Well that was uneventful." I screamed and had my wand out in front of me in a faster motion than I'd had in months.

"GEORGE WEASLEY YOU ABSOLUTE LITTLE PRICK!"

"Aw, Hermione's getting more creative with her language! Knew it would happen one way or another. Anyway, what a waste of a good sneak out. Didn't learn anything I didn't already know." I fixed him with my steeliest of glares, the one that always made Harry spill whatever he was hiding. "Oh, come on love. You can't be mad at me. Everyone wanted to know what was going on, so I was sent out. Blame everyone else." He threw his arm around my shoulder with the kind of ease only a Weasley twin had, and started steering me back towards the house. "You aren't honestly mad at me, are you?"

"Well, a little. It was a private moment." In reality, most of my anger had faded. I was staying with the Weasley's. Molly didn't like anything to happen under her roof that she didn't know about.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on actually telling them anything."

"Thanks, George." He paused, looking down at me smiling. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it into a smirk I should have seen coming. His arm dropped from my shoulder, and he started sprinting.

"HEY, EVERYBODY. GUESS WHAT I KNOW? GUESS WHAT JUST HAPPENED? EVERYONE!"

"GEORGE WEASLEY YOU GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE AND YOU KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT." But he'd already made it back to the house, and was too far out of my range to have a reliable hex on him. That bloody little git. By the time I was in the house, he was seated back at the table, a triumphant look on his face.

"Uh oh, mate, looks as if someone isn't too happy you spilled her secret." At least Harry knew to still be wary of that glare.

"But, I didn't say a thing. Only that you two are together now, I guess. Is that really such a secret?" The innocence in his eyes was too much for me to handle. He played me.

"I'm going to shower." I could hear George snickering as I walked out of the kitchen. "Furnunclus." I whispered under my breath. I heard Harry's laughing double, and George muttering intelligibly. "You might want to put a potion on those pimples, Georgie. Not your best look." I peered back around the kitchen wall, shot one last grin at George and then walked back up to the shower.

"This means war, Hermione Granger!"

"Bring it on, George! I've taken your ally." He hadn't thought of that. He knew my idea of "pranks"- well timed hexes or jinks that caused a good laugh. I still didn't much approve of George and Fred's idea of pranks, but we weren't in Hogwarts anymore. I couldn't tell them what to do, and I couldn't deny, they're pranks were good. It wouldn't be bad for there to be a little more laughter in the remaining darkness.


	10. Chapter 10

**Fred's Point of View**

I mean really, I must be going absolutely bonkers. I've barely spoken to her in the last week. Not for lack of trying, I mean, it's just that every time I try to get near her, someone suddenly needs me. She must think I've lost interest. She must think I've played her. God, I need to talk to her.

**Hermione's Point of View**

Did I do something wrong? Was I that bad of a kisser? It's been a week, and he's barely spoken to me. He's not coming round the Burrow as often now. Must finally have moved into the apartment above the shop. Certainly more convenient. But, it seems like he _wants_ to talk to me. But for some reason, it's like people are suddenly wanting to keep us apart. Or maybe I'm reading into this too much. God, I need to talk to him.

**Fred's Point of View**

"George! Have you seen that box of Snackboxes I put in the back room yesterday? We're out already!" Why were we selling out of everything so quickly? Hogwarts had just sent out letters, we shouldn't be getting this busy now. "GEORGE! Stop snogging Angelina and come help me out here!"

"Clearly you haven't been snogging Hermione enough, or you wouldn't be so short tempered." I just glared at him. "Ouch, but she's clearly been teaching you her glaring skills. And for the record, I put those Snackboxes out this morning, I'll ask Verity to start making more. I feel bad for the girl, you know. We work her to the bone, I don't think she knew what she was getting into." Verity, a girl from our year at Hogwarts, had stopped into the shop three days after the re-opening and asked to be hired. George had been better friends with her than I had, and he trusted her, so she was hired on the spot. Still, I had to agree that she didn't know what she was getting into. Although, apparently neither did we, seeing as we were suddenly swarmed every hour of every day.

"George, why don't we close up for an hour or two for lunch? That'll give us a chance to catch up on everything." I hadn't noticed before, but the store had cleared out considerably while I went to search for the Snackboxes.

"Sounds like a plan, Freddie. I've been meaning to talk to you anyhow." We started moving around the shop, neatening displays and taking count of what we needed to make more of.

"Oh, yeah? About what?"

"Well, is everything okay with Hermione? I mean, you freak out about her being with Ron, then you get her to admit she likes you, then you kiss her, then you barely speak to her. Not exactly the usual path of romance."

"It's not like I'm not trying! Every time we're at the Burrow, Mum or one of the other 18,000 people there interrupts us whenever I try and talk to her. And if she comes here to visit, it's inevitably so busy that I don't have time to leave for a bit and talk to her. Then I'm so exhausted after work that I can't even think of doing anything but going upstairs and passing out. When am I supposed to be able to talk to her?" I leaned against the display of trick wands I was re-stacking, hearing the edge of frustration in my voice.

"What if you asked her to Katie's party tomorrow?" Shit. I'd completely forgotten about that. Katie was having a combination engagement/start of Harpies training party and I'd sworn that I would go. Still...it would give me a chance to get Hermione away from the other Weasley's and any customers.

"That's actually a brilliant plan. But, we may need to close the store a bit early tomorrow."

"That might be the best idea you've had since hiring me." I hadn't noticed Verity coming out of the back room, but suddenly she was right behind me, a little too close for comfort.

"Yes, well, ah, if we have a bit of time on our lunch break, I think I'm just going to, you know, go upstairs...freshen up. Ah, yeah." Verity had backed me against the shelf. "Er, excuse me, Verity." She didn't move. There was a sudden, urgent rapping on the door, and I saw a very welcome face peering in through the glass pane. "Hermione." I breathed.

If I hadn't been able to take my eyes off of her, I wouldn't have noticed it. In almost a blink, the smile on her face fell, and a cloud of sadness overtook. She spun away from the door and started walking the other way toward Diagon Alley.

"Verity, I think that Fred needs to go see his girlfriend now. Why don't you come get lunch with me?" Shit. That was it. Hermione had seen my stance with Verity. Glad George was around to notice. How thick could I be?

* * *

"Hermione! Hermione, please wait! I can explain!" Bloody hell, that girl could move fast. She'd gotten halfway down the alley before I could even spot her in the crowd, and I didn't understand how she was pushing through the crowd so easily. "Hermione! Please! Wait for just a...oh bloody hell. Protego!" I could only feel so much remorse for the individuals knocked over by the Shield spell as I ran to catch up to Hermione. "Hermione! Hermione, please." I grabbed her arm, deactivating the spell and pulling her back towards me. "Please, just let me explain." I nuzzled my head into her hair, breathing her in.

"I don't want to hear it, Fred. I should have known it was too good to be true. I just, please let me go, Fred. I don't want to make this anymore awkward." She was choking back tears. God, she was killing me inside!

"Hermione, I swear. If you give me ten minutes, I can explain _everything_."

"Why aren't you listening to me! I've already figured everything out! You don't have to explain anything to me! They don't call me the brightest witch of my age for nothing, you've made your point perfectly clear! I was just...just coming to the shop to tell you..." The tears were flowing freely at this point. "I was coming to tell you that our Hogwarts letters came today. I've decided to go back. I'm sorry, Fred. I've got to go." She pushed out of my arms, and disapparated on the spot.

"No...Hermione...wait..." But she was gone. And I didn't dare follow.

* * *

"So, how'd it go? Are the two love birds all happy again?" George teased as I walked back into the shop.

"Confringo." I pointed my wand lazily at a box of Canary Creams. I was trying too hard to not start crying to feel bad about the sudden burst of fire so close to George's head. All I could think about was getting upstairs.

* * *

"Freddie? Will you please unlock the door? You know it's not fair to lock me out." I made no move. "Freddie, please. You know I can get in. Don't make me have to." I still didn't get up. It was too much effort. "Fine, you made me. Alohomora!" And suddenly the door was open, and George was sitting next to me on the bed. "Fred, please tell me what happened. It can't be as bad as it seems."

"No, George, it's worse. It's so much worse. She's leaving. I messed up so badly that she can't stand to be here anymore."

"What, just because she saw Verity flirting with you she's fleeing? Come on, Fred." I sat up, finally, facing him.

"George, you don't understand. You didn't see her face. It was just as you'd said. She admits she likes me, I kiss her, I barely speak to her, she comes to see me, sees Verity flirting with me, and the next thing I know, she's telling me she knows exactly what happened and that she was just coming to tell me that she's going back to Hogwarts in the fall. George, _I can't fix this_. I dug myself into a whole I can't get out of."

"I never thought that I'd see you give up on something that you cared so much about so easily. Is this what happens whenever you and I get in a fight? Do you just assume that we're done, that whatever you did to annoy me is just too much for you to undo?"

"That's different! You're a part of me!"

"AND SO IS SHE, YOU MORON! You can't give up on her so easily! You scared her! How do you think she felt when you kissed her? You blithering idiot, you sat there for a good five minutes staring at her in disbelief before you kissed her. You're older than her, you were sure to be an old school girl crush that was sneaking back up on her, _she didn't think she was good enough for you!_ And suddenly you act like you like her, then you back down, and show no interest for _a full week_, then when she comes to try to make things right, it looks like you're flirting with another girl, who I'm _sure_ she thinks is prettier than her, or better than her, or something! So OF COURSE she told you she was going to go back to Hogwarts, but that DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD GIVE UP ON HER, YOU JERK." And with that, he stood up and left the room, slamming the door, and leaving me in a state of loneliness unlike one I'd ever known.

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**A/N: Sorry to take this so suddenly in such a completely different direction, but alas, it must be done! I promise, it's not over yet ;)**

**PS- I'm going to try and start writing only from Fred's POV. My original plan was to have the story solely from his view, but then there were moments that I needed to include Hermione's for my point to get across. So...yeah. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay (again), I'm trying to work through these next few chapters so that they are as clear as possible. Even though I said that I was going to try and stick solely from Fred's point of view, I might need to change it up a bit. This is a bit short, but I hope that it sets everything up nicely!**

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"Mum? Is that you?" The incessant rapping on the apartment door was too much for me to handle when I'd spent most of the night crying.

"Yes, it's me, now open this door, Fred Weasley!" Oh, shit. That was her angry voice. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever was coming, and opened the door. "What did you do to that poor girl? She leaves the house yesterday, all excited and anxious because the Hogwarts letters came, and McGonagall invited her back, but she was still so confused as to whether she wanted to return, and Harry and Ron were both at training so she couldn't talk it over with them. So I tell her to go talk to you, because certainly if nothing else you'd be a good ear to listen. So she goes and gets all dolled up, leaves with the biggest smile on her face I've seen in YEARS, and not even ten minutes later comes home, crying, and just THROWS herself into my arms, and tells me she's going. Now certainly she didn't have enough time to talk to you about everything, and this girl is _never_ impulsive, always thinking everything out ahead of time, but here she was, sending a letter to Hogwarts before thinking it through, or talking it over with _anyone_. So, _please_, Mr. Weasley, enlighten me as to what you did to that girl."

"Good morning to you too, Mum. It's obviously a complicated tale, will you at least take some tea before this story?"

"Can I slip truth potion into it so that I know you're telling the truth?"

"Won't be necessary. George was so mad at me last night that he not only locked me in here, but he put a truth spell on the whole bloody place. I can't get out of answering any question right now." I put the kettle on to boil, using the actual special tea leaves that George and I had been given as a grand re-opening present from Madam Puddifoot.

"Your brother is much more talented with that brain of his then I have given him credit for in the past. So. You've heard my understanding of her side of the story. Tell me what happened, Freddie." She must have finally noticed my tear streaked face, because her tone had softened quite a bit. I poured a mug of tea for both of us and sat down next to her.

"She actually came to the shop at a great time- we'd had a rare quiet moment so we'd closed for lunch and to re-stock. When she came to the door, it was at the exact moment that Verity decided to start flirting with me. She'd pinned me against one of the shelves, and I was trying to get away from her so that I could come to the Burrow and see Hermione. Then Hermione was at the door, and she was so excited, and then she saw Verity and me, and she was mad, and she ran. So I finally disentangled myself from Verity and ran after her, and tried to explain, but she wouldn't hear it. Then she told me that she'd only come to the shop to tell me the letters came and that she was going back, and I don't think she really wants to, but if she's already sent the letter back, there's nothing I can do, and I messed up so badly, but she wouldn't let me explain!" I banged my fist on the table in frustration. "Mum, I don't want to lose her. I messed up so badly, but I _don't want to lose her._"

"Oh, Freddie."

"Well, you certainly did screw up." I jumped, I didn't know anyone else was in the apartment.

"GINNY! How did you get in here?"

"The front door, dingbat. You never closed it after you let mum in, and George said that you two were up here chatting. Now then. Some tea would be nice, Freddie." That little brat. Nevertheless, I got up and handed her a mug of tea. "Very nice. Such a wonderful host. Now then. The position that you were in when she got to the store was her worst nightmare come true. She is so insanely jealous of Verity. Has been since we were at Hogwarts. Think about it, the girl is undeniably beautiful, isn't exactly lacking in brains, and has an ease around boys that any girl would envy. Especially when Hermione was in her 'I'm so in love with Fred Weasley it's disgusting' phase at Hogwarts, just seeing Verity with _George_ would upset her. But I have to give you props. Chasing after her, trying to explain, that was the right thing to do. What would have been _further_ the right thing was to not stop in Diagon Alley. You knew that she probably disapparated back to the Burrow, why didn't you follow her?"

"Er, actually, the thought that she'd gone back to the Burrow didn't actually, you know, occur to me..."

"And clearly mum has been giving you the right amount of credit for that brain of yours." Ginny's tone was almost scathing. "I do have a plan to help you. It's not like you were the only one's invited to Katie's party tonight- we all were. I'll convince her to come. Doesn't matter what it takes. Then you are going to be waiting at the front door for her. Have flowers. A gift wouldn't be a bad thing either. A _real_ gift, not something out of your shop. As soon as she's reached you, you apologize, and ask for a chance to explain again. What I want you to understand, though, Fred, is that if she says no, _let her go_. This is a healing process, and it needs to happen on her terms. That might mean you never get to. But I'm going to do my bloody best to try and make sure you do."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey everyone! If you'll notice, I had to make a minor change regarding Katie- in Chapter 7 I had originally said that she played for the Holyhead Harpies. Upon further research, I realized that it wouldn't be possible for her to do so, as Harpies members' names all start with "G" (as in, Ginny Weasley). I've gone back and changed this in Chapter 7 as well, but Katie now plays for Puddlemere with Oliver and Cormac (who is a reserve). Angelina plays for the Falmouth Falcons, Alicia for the Tutshill Tornadoes (along with Cho Chang). This isn't necessarily uber-important information, but it does come into play later in this chapter.**

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"George! George! You need to lift the charm on the bloody door if you want me to go to the party!" I mean really. He trapped me in here all day, and for what reason? What if I'd wanted to go and try and chase Hermione down? "GEORGE!" That little bastard. He probably left straight from the shop with Angelina. "GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY IF YOU ARE DOWN THERE YOU HAD BETTER BLOODY COME LET ME OUT!" By the time we got to Katie's I wouldn't have any voice left. And I still needed to run to get the flowers and the present.

"Fred? Is that you up there?" Oh for great bloody sakes this is the last thing I need. Still, if she could get me out...

"Yes, Verity, it's me. George put an Anti-Apparition charm on the apartment, and a Caterwauling charm in the hallway so that if I leave here he'll know. Don't step into the hallway! Just take down the charm. Please." I heard her remove the spell and sprinted out into the hallway, just about knocking her over before realizing what I was doing.

"What's your hurry, Fred? Got a hot date?" Ugh. This girl didn't get it, did she?

"Listen, Verity, you're a very nice girl, and you've been a HUGE help with the store and everything recently, but, I'm sorry, there's just, there's someone else right now. And I'm afraid that I've really messed things up with her, but I'm not giving up anytime soon. So there just isn't a future here, romantically, I mean."

"It's that Granger girl, isn't it?" I nodded. "I can understand. She had a huge crush on you back in the school days. To be honest with you, I've always been more interested in your brother, but when I found out that he was with Angelina, I figured you were my next best option." She sighed. "But I guess that you're not available either. It's okay. Clearly neither of you two were the right guy for me. I'll find him someday." I opened my mouth to thank her, but she cut me off. "What are you still doing here? Go! Get your girl!" So without looking back, I sprinted out of the store.

There was a small witch peddling flowers on the street. Normally I'm not one to trust the peddlers, but having worked here for a while, George and I have figured out which ones to trust. George always got his flowers for Angelina from this witch, so I figured she was safe. I bought white tulips, which she told me stood for forgiveness, and hyacinths, which she said meant sincerity. I am so not a flower person, but it's not like she was giving me the most expensive things in the cart. The next step was Hogsmeade. Ginny said that Hermione's favourite quill was on its last ear, and that she always bought her quills from Scrivenshaft's. I bought a grey and turquoise pheasant quill, then headed to Katie's in Mould-on-the-Wold.

I'd been to Katie's several times before, it was the un-offical team practice place during holiday breaks. Even though it had been a while since I'd been there, it was just as I'd remembered it, though at the moment, there were quite a few more people there than usual. Her parent's house isn't exactly small, but it's not exactly Malfoy Mansion either. People were spilling out onto the lawn, and seemed to pack every square inch of the first floor. I had no idea how I was going to find Katie or Hermione. Or George, for that matter. Suddenly, though, I saw a familiar face.

"Lee! Hey, Lee! Alicia!" I squeezed my way through the thick crowd in the kitchen to the pair, who were standing by the makeshift bar.

"Fred! George said he, er, wasn't sure if you'd make it." Alicia grinned at me before wrapping me in a hug. "Katie was looking for you. Though, I don't exactly know where she is right now...last I saw her she was talking to Oliver. They were outside, in that field we'd always practice in when we were here."

"Thanks, 'Leesh. You're a life saver. You haven't seen Ginny, too, have you? Or Hermione? I'd imagine they're together."

"Can't say I have. But, we've been trying to stay a bit out of the way. Though as soon as Lee gets his drink we were going to go try and find Mr. and Mrs. Bell. It's been a while since we've seen them, I figured we should say hi. If I see one of them, I'll let them know where you are."

"You're the best!" I wound my way out of the kitchen. If I remembered Katie's house well enough, there should be a door leading outside right about...there, through the back of the den. Whenever we wanted to practice late at night, Katie would always have us sneak out of that door, it led straight to the field.

It was no less crowded outside than it was inside, but it was crowded in a much different way. It seemed everyone out here was on a broom, and someone had charmed the torches to be suspended in mid-air, lighting the incredibly crowded make-shift Quidditch game being played. There were at least 7 chasers per side, and certainly more than 2 beaters, but it was difficult to see what side was playing which since no one was wearing game robes. You could find Katie straight away though. Beyond being quite talented on a broom, she's the only girl I've ever met who was able to figure out how to play while wearing a dress without being indecent.

"Oy, Weasley! Grab a broom and get up here! You're partner in crime isn't able to compete with these professional beaters!" Typical Oliver for you. Now that he mentioned it, I noticed that one of the beaters had a shock of red hair incredibly similar to my own. And sure enough, one of those chasers was definitely Angelina, she had a style that was difficult to mistake. She was definitely playing on the team opposite Oliver and Katie though, I wondered if there were any other Falcons on the field.

"Love to, Oliver, but I'm just out here to grab Katie for a second. I'll come back out later, though!"

"Suit yourself. Your brother is still going to get crushed. Katie! Someone here to see you!" Oliver shouted across the pitch. I watched as Katie shot the Quaffle perfectly through the "goal posts," did a double barrel roll, and started to fly back across the field towards me.

"Fred, you should really just hop on a broom and help your poor brother out. He's being crushed." She landed next to me and pulled me in a hug.

"I'll let him suffer a bit more, he locked me in the apartment all day."

"Ah, yes, I heard about that. Just make sure that you get your drama dealt with before 11. We've decided we're reuniting the team and having a Hogwarts only game. Though I guess we'll have to split up the Gryffindor team a bit...I'm rambling about Quidditch, aren't I?" I smirked, but nodded. "Sorry. I didn't want to have this big, fussy party. I don't know half the people here! I'm sure some are Cormac's family members, but I haven't even seen him in an hour. I'm happier out here anyway. And I'm still rambling." She cracked a grin. "You needed to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah, nothing urgent. Just wanted to give you your present. I had no idea what to get you, to be honest, so I hope you like it." In typical Katie fashion, she couldn't wait a second to open the present, ripping the wrapping off right there. "Well, it's certainly more serious than I thought it would be, but, oh, Fred, I love it! I haven't had a proper broom servicing kit since sixth year, it's perfect! Thank you!" She gave me a huge bear hug, and when her mouth was just even with my ear, she whispered, "Ginny sent me a message, she should be here any minute. Be honest with her, Freddie. And if the gift you got her is as any good as mine, she'll have to listen to you." She pulled away again, winked, and got back on her broom. "Remember, Freddie, 11 o'clock! Tell Ginny, too, and Harry and Ron if you see them. This is happening!" With a final fist pump, she kicked off, joining the game in the air.

"Fred, Ginny just got here." Alicia was suddenly right behind me, picking up a broom. "I think Hermione was with her, I couldn't be sure. I told her that you'd meet her out on the front porch. You know that little spot we used to sleep? It didn't seem like anyone was there, so I thought it would be a good place to talk. Good luck!" She kicked off into the air to follow Katie. "Hey, my Tornadoes are severely out numbered here!" I watched them all for a few more minutes. Lee had taken up his usual role of commentary from a spot on the porch. It was weird to see the former team so divided. But I couldn't get distracted.

The level of people on the porch had dispersed enough so that I could maneuver without feeling like I was ripping the heads off of the flowers. The spot that Alicia had told Ginny that I'd meet her was around the other side of the house, the one spot where the porch was completely covered. Part of the house jutted out almost in front of it, making someone think that the porch ended right before it. If it hadn't been for the fact that Katie always had us sleep out here when we stayed there, I wouldn't have known it was there. I could see Ginny's hair around the corner, and I had to pause before I walked in. I took a deep breath, steeled my nerves, and walked in.

* * *

**Sorry to keep holding out on this! I'm trying to work this conversation so that it plays out on paper as my brain wants it to. I promise that next chapter will disclose Fred and Hermione's future! I'm thinking that there are maybe 10 chapter or so left. Thank you for all sticking with me!**


	13. Chapter 13

Hermione, have I ever steered you wrong?" Ginny and Herminoe both had their backs to me and hadn't heard me walk into the area.

"You told me to go after him in the first place." There was an edge to her voice that told me this conversation wouldn't be easy.

"And I'm telling you that that wasn't a mistake. You over-reacted and this is all one big misunderstanding. Just promise me that once he's here, you'll hear him out."

"I'm not making any promises, Ginny."

"You can either promise her, or I'm going to make it so that you can't run off again." They both jumped, spinning around to me with their wands out. Ginny regained her composure first.

"Oh good, you're here now. I'll leave you two to it, then. I heard there was a Quidditch game going on."

"Oh, right, if you see Harry and Ron before I do, they're doing a Hogwarts only game at 11. Make sure you guys are out there." She nodded, winked, and walked off without another word. I turned my focus back to Hermione, who was glaring me down with the kind of look that usually made people roll over and beg for mercy. "You can keep glaring at me, but I'm not removing my threat off the table. You can promise to hear me out, or you can be forced to stay here against your will." She kept glaring. "I'm not talking an anti-Apparition charm, those are too easy, and I know you've figured out a way around them. No, I have some things from the shop with me, they're tester products, but we haven't found anyone willing to be a test subject yet..." I purposefully let my voice drop off. I knew that if I kept my voice calm, teasing, normal, she'd take me more seriously, and as I had no such products on me, the more she believed me the better. She looked at me skeptically for a minute, before finally dropping the glare and sitting in the chair closest to her.

"Fine. But I reserve the right to interrupt you as often as I please."

"Fair deal. First, these things are for you. The witch I bought the flowers from said that they stood for sincerity and forgiveness or some thing like that, I'm no good with flowers. And Ginny said that you needed a new quill." She admired both items, and seemed to like them, but voiced no thanks. That was fine. "Now then. Onto my apologies. First- to set the record straight- I was not avoiding you, trying to push you away, playing a cruel joke on you, whatever went through that brilliant brain of yours after the kiss. Every time I tried to talk to you after that day, something went wrong. When we were at the Burrow, someone else always got in the way. When you came to the shop, we were always too busy. And whenever I was done at work, I was always too exhausted to make the trip to the Burrow to visit. And I realize that I should have made a bigger effort, but I didn't. And I apologize for that." She hadn't felt need to interrupt yet, so I plowed on. "Secondly, when you came to the shop that day, I was on my way out to find you at the Burrow-"

"That is not what it appeared you were doing, Fred Weasley, don't try and feed me more lies." Well she was nothing if not to-the-point.

"I was. We had a rare break at work and had decided to close down for lunch." How many times had I recapped this story now? "George and I were re-stocking shelves when he brought up that I hadn't spoken much to you, and I told him exactly what I'd just told you. He gave me the idea to invite you as my date to the party tonight. I told him that I liked that idea, and had said that we'd need to close the shop down early, since we'd need to get changed and get ready. Verity came out of the store room, and said something about how that was a good idea, and then when I turned around, she was _right there_. I told her that I needed to go upstairs to freshen up, and my plan was to apparate from the apartment to the Burrow to see you. But then you were there, and I was so excited to see you, and then you saw how Verity was standing, and I understand, you thought that I wasn't speaking to you because I was more interested in Verity, but that's _not true_." She made to speak, but I cut her off before she could start. "I told Verity today that I wasn't interested in her. She agreed to stop flirting with me, and encouraged me to come after you tonight. Hermione, I would _never_ do something like that to you. I swear that I am being completely, 100% honest with you right now, and I always will be." She stared at me for a few minutes.

"So let me get this straight. You genuinely turned down the affections of Verity Jones, one of the most beautiful girls in your year at Hogwarts, for me. And she was okay with this?"

"Yes. She told me something about how she was really interested in George, but he was taken, but she didn't know that I was in a relationship, so she went after me. Took it all very well, actually." Again, Hermione took a few minutes to take all this in.

"The flowers are beautiful. And you were right, I did need a new quill. And this is even from Scrivenshaft's. It's amazing, Fred. Thank you." She leaned forward and placed a tiny kiss on my cheek. Even in the dim lighting, I could tell that she was blushing.

"So are we okay then?"

"Yes, we are. Ginny was right, I over-reacted when I saw you standing like that. I'm sorry."

"So can I ask you a question now?" She nodded. "What made you decide to go back to Hogwarts? Mum said that you wanted to talk to me about it, but something tells me that you'd already made that decision."

"I...I hadn't...and...I...I still haven't." She walked over to the railing of the porch. "You and George, you knew what you wanted to do without needing much training. And you were right- your future lay outside the world of academics. You are naturally able to perform extraordinary magic and manipulate it so well, and you didn't need much schooling for that. But I'm...I'm not like that. Even if I were to go into the Ministry or work at St. Mungo's right now...I'd still be missing so much. The letter that I sent to McGonagall was not actually my acceptance to return, it was a request to be able to speak with her. My relationship with her was similar to Harry's with Dumbledore- it transcended the student-teacher relationship. I asked for her advice in the situation. She told me that she couldn't see me in either of those professions, and that she was slightly shocked that I was even thinking of going into the Ministry. She said that she'd always seen me returning to Hogwarts as a professor, and to do that, I'd have to finish my seventh year. But then she said that they were still looking for someone to fill the Transfiguration post that was vacated with her acceptance of Headmistress-ship, and she promised me that I could fill that post, regardless of my N.E.W.T. scores, at the conclusion of my seventh year. I haven't actually said yes or no to Hogwarts. I was hoping to talk to Harry about what he'd do in my position, but he's been so busy." I wasn't sure if this was an invitation for my opinion, so I waited for her. She finally turned around with a look of confusion on her face that looked so out of place, I had to step in.

"Can I tell you my opinion?" She nodded. "I agree with McGonagall. I never saw you in the Ministry, it's too restricting. And I never saw you as a Healer either, I think it might destroy you. I _always_ saw you as a teacher. Look at it this way, Hermione, your greatest love is learning, something you shared with Dumbledore. If you were to be at Hogwarts, or any school for that matter, teaching, you would never be at a shortage of knowledge, and you would be able to foster that love of learning in other people. I know that it would be weird to go back to Hogwarts, I know that you feel like that part of your life is over, but I think that you found a home at Hogwarts that no one else could relate to. You found a home in the pages of _Hogwarts, A History. _You found a home in the nooks and crannies, the history, the library. I think that if you don't return for your seventh year, you'll always regret it. And I don't think that you'd be as happy in any profession offered to you now as you would be as a professor, especially in Transfiguration."

"So you think I should go back?"

"I think that you should do what your heart tells you to do. And I know that that's cliché advice, but you can't make your decision based on what I think, or what McGongall thinks, or what Harry thinks, at the end of the day, it has to be your decision."

"But what would that mean for us?"

"I think that we take that when we come to it. But know this- I would travel to the other end of the world to keep this." She took a deep breath, and smiled up at me, before a look of shock came over her face and she frantically looked at her watch.

"Fred! It's almost 11, you need to go for the Quidditch game!" I smiled as she grabbed my arm, laughing as she pulled me back to the field. Yes, if she were to return to Hogwarts, it would cause some complications. But why think about the future when everything is so perfect now?

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**A/N: Everyone happy now? **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Fair warning- this is a bit of a fluff chapter. It's necessary to set some other things up, but it's fluff all the same. Thank you for the favorites, subscriptions, and reviews! It really means a lot. To answer a question I got a few times- I don't think that I'm going to do a sequel to this story. I'll have an epilogue, but I'm not a huge fan of writing sequels. **

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Fred, watch Alicia!" This was honestly the most disorganized Quidditch game I'd ever played. We tried to divide people up based on what they'd played in school, and that mostly worked, but there was the Keeper issue. We were able to divide up the Chasers easily- Angelina, Alicia, and Katie on one side, mine; Ginny, Demelza, and Dean on the other. Then Harry seeking for my team, Cho for the other, George and I beating against Ritchie and Jimmy. The problem was Ron. He's my brother, and I have to support him, but he was no match for Oliver or Cormac as far as keeping was concerned. We kept switching him out with Cormac, but he kept getting confused when someone flew towards him, since he was so used to playing with half of them. It was nice on my side, though. Best Quidditch team since Charlie's year, and we weren't doing too badly.

"And that's another goal to the Originals, making the score 180 to 100. Nice shot to Alicia Spinnet, former outside Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, current outside Chaser for the Tutshill Tornadoes!" I heard Cho give a shout at this. Then her shout turned into a gasp, and she went into a dive. But it was no use, Harry had seen it first. Within seconds, it was all over. "And the snitch is caught by star seeker Harry Potter, bringing the final score to 330 Originals, 100...er...other team. Shame that boy wasn't interested in being a professional Seeker, he'd catch quite the career!"

Within seconds we were all on the ground, tangled in each others arms and broomsticks. Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Seamus were all screaming from the porch.

We'd moved back to the porch. Most people had cleared out, it had to be well past midnight. Now it was truly the old group, with a few members of the D.A. left. I was sitting on the floor, leaning against the house. Hermione lay comfortably next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. It was amusing to watch the couples paired up now. Some you saw coming in the old days- George and Angelina, Lee and Alicia, Neville and Luna. Then there were the unexpected ones- Ginny and Harry, Katie and Cormac, myself and Hermione. Oliver, Ron, and Cho sat on chairs or on the railing, and Ron, at least, was pointedly not looking down at the various couples.

* * *

"I kinda miss Hogwarts." Cho's voice broke the quiet. "No, it's not that I miss Hogwarts. I miss having a place to go back to."

"I know what you mean. But in some ways, I wish that I didn't have to go back." Ginny replied.

"Don't let mum hear that. Somehow Fred and I managed to live through not finishing our N.E.W.T year, but I doubt that things would go as smoothly for her little girl."

"But I'm like you! I don't want to be an auror, or be in the Ministry, or anything like that. I want to play Quidditch! Not that mum thinks that that is a good career choice."

"Careers are over-rated. I say that we all just live in Diagon Alley and peddle random stuff." Every head in the room shot to Hermione. "What? It's so much stress to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life when you're only 17. And then the process of changing career tracts is so annoying. I don't want to worry about all that right now!"

"But we don't exactly have a choice, do we? I mean, I think I'd like to take over The Quibbler. But then again, I don't know if I want to be so sedentary. Daddy rarely left the house when he was editor." It was weird to talk about this here. For most of us, we'd already picked our careers, and for a good half of us, they weren't your most parent approved.

"You know, we make a pretty odd group." Everyone gave me strange looks. "Well, think about it. Half of you lot are professional Quidditch players. Two of us are joke shop owners. Three Aurors. A Ministry employee-"

"Oy, I'm in the fun portion, thank you!" Lee interrupted. "Free tickets for every national Quidditch game."

"But still. Then we've got the three who's futures are still an open book. It's not like any of us are good role models for you lot. I mean, maybe Harry, Ron, and Neville are, but they didn't finish school. I still say that people put too much faith in that system. I mean, look at you three, didn't take any N.E.W.T's and are almost through the first portion of your Auror training. And as for George and myself, we're not doing too badly now, are we?"

"But unfortunately, not all of us are magically gifted and brave beyond Gryffindor's wildest dreams, so we aren't all given those opportunities."

"Who are you saying isn't magically gifted, Miss Brightest Witch of her Age? You had those opportunities given to you, you just don't know whether to take them or not." Ah, Ron. Always the tactful one.

"I'm not." She said it so quietly I almost didn't even hear her. Harry, somehow, did, though.

"What? Why not?" He sat up so quickly he almost knocked Ginny to the ground.

"I was given another opportunity that I think I should take. It means having to return to Hogwarts, which I didn't really want to do, but after some thought, this would be the career that I think I'd be happiest in. I think." She stared at her hands the whole time, steadily avoiding looking at me. I was glad that she was making this decision, and I hold that it's the right one for her, but she was right, it would present some challenges for us. Beyond her returning for the year, if she was teaching at Hogwarts, she'd be living there as well. That could cause some complications. Except...oh yes, that could work. I needed to have a chat with Georgie as soon as possible.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey, George? You got a minute?" I seized the first opportunity I could to talk to him. It was the day after the party, a Sunday, so the shop was closed. He'd stayed over Angelina's last night, and I'd very politely given him at least 2 hours to sleep out the hangover. He was currently laying on the couch, flipping through some magazine.

"Yeah, what's up?" He set the magazine down and sat up, making room for me on the couch.

"You know how we'd discussed opening that Hogsmeade branch?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I think we should open it soon. Or at least purchase it, get started with renovations and such, so that by the time the first Hogsmeade visit rolls around, we're all ready."

"But didn't we agree that we'd wait for the Diagon Alley store excitement to die down a little, so that we could devote as much time as we needed to the Hogsmeade location?"

"Well, yes. But I thought, remember how Zonko shut down the business when the war started back up? Madam Rosmerta said that he's decided to close for good, so we wouldn't actually have to go through the process of renovating anything if we bought where Zonko's used to be. And you know that he liked us, he's be more than willing to give us a fair price."

"Yes, Fred, but why are you suddenly so interested in rushing into the Hogsmeade branch?"

"Oh. Well, I thought that was a bit obvious, honestly. Look, if Hermione is going back to Hogwarts-"

"Fred, she'll be at Hogwarts for a year. And you'll see her on breaks. I know that I said to stop ignoring her, but I didn't tell you to practically marry her either!"

"She's not going back for just a year, George. Remember how she was talking about that opportunity that she was offered, the reason that she was going back in the first place? McGonagall told her that if she finished her N.E.W.T year, she'd be able to take up the Transfiguration post. Apparently the person who's filling it now is just temporary or something, Hermione didn't tell me anything about that person. And if Hermione is teaching at Hogwarts, then she's presumably living at Hogwarts. And it's pretty bloody hard to keep up a relationship with someone that you only see about 4 months of the year."

"So, what? If you're in Hogsmeade, there's no guarantee that she'd be able to see you anymore than if you were here."

"Now, that's where you're wrong. Lupin had talked about it one night, when everyone was fantasizing about life after the war. He had been hoping that he might be able to come back as the Defense teacher, and Tonks was worried about how she'd never see him. But he said that the professors who were married all lived in Hogsmeade, so if I was in Hogsmeade, Hermione would be able to come down and stay on the weekends at least, and then, you know, if it gets to that point, we could live there and-" I faltered. George looked angry. Really angry. "What's wrong?"

"And what am I going to do while you're enjoying you're happy little life in Hogsmeade, Fred? Am I just supposed to sit here, only seeing you the few times a months we all go round Mum's for dinner? Running the Diagon Alley branch with Verity, sleeping here all by myself at night?" There was an edge to his voice that made me distinctly uncomfortable. We'd never really talked about us not being together at some point...always thought we'd find a way to run both branches together.

"Well, no, I figured you'd ask Angelina to move in-" He cut me off again.

"Angelina has her own apartment that is closer to Falmouth and therefore more convenient." Okay, now he was annoying me.

"Oh come off it. She can apparate, she can appear almost immediately anywhere, how is the Burrow convenient for Dad to get to London everyday? Oh right, he can just APPEAR THERE. You're being selfish! First it was let's push Fred and Hermione together, let's make this happen, let's fix this when Fred messed it up, but now, now that Fred has fixed everything, now that he's making a real effort to make this thing work, let's make sure that I'm going to be a little bloody git and keep him to myself! It's okay for you to be at Angelina's almost every weekend, but it's not okay for me to think about expanding our business, something you'd wanted to do about a month ago-"

"This has nothing to do with the business! You know I want to expand-"

"Then stop being a selfish prat and listen to me! You know that this is the right time. And I never said anything about me leaving the apartment right away! The only times I'd be living at the Hogsmeade shop are when there was a Hogsmeade weekend and I could therefore see Hermione. So you wouldn't have to sleep in the apartment by yourself immediately. So while you sit here and stew, because I know you will, I'm going to Hogsmeade to talk to Zonko."

"You can't do that without me!"

"Who say's?" I left before I could say anything else that I would really regret. I'd meant what I said- he was being selfish. And it wasn't like I was going to buy Zonko's without George's consent, I mean, really, that would be a bad business choice. We were in this business together, and I wouldn't do anything without George. But he needed to give me a real reason why we shouldn't purchase the branch now, not just because he said so.

* * *

"Hey, Madam Rosmerta!" I wasn't actually sure where Zonko lived now that the shop had closed, but Rosmerta knew everything about everyone in Hogsmeade.

"Fred Weasley! How's the shop doing?"

"Fantastic, so great we think it might be time to expand."

"Ah, I didn't think you were here for a drink. You still looking into that old haunted shop at the end of the street?"

"Well, yes. But after all the work that we just put into the Diagon Alley shop, we've realized that we might like a branch that didn't require so much...ah...what do the muggles call it? TLC. I was wondering if you knew where Zonko lived, now that he's closed down the shop?"

"He's still in the village. You have a spare bit of parchment? I can write down the address. It's only about a mile north of the business area." I dug in the pockets of my robes until I found a ripped piece of parchment that had once been an inventory list. Rosmerta started writing down the address. "Where's your brother? Didn't think you two went anywhere without each other."

"We, er, got in a bit of a spat about opening this branch. He wants to wait a bit longer. Decided it was worth it to at least come out and talk to Zonko, see how much he wants for the place."

"Well, you tell George that he had better make his mind up quick. You aren't the only one's looking at that old store, but I would imagine that Zonko would be more likely to sell it to you than anyone else. Has his old heart set on it remaining a joke shop, he does." She slid the bit of parchment over to me. "He's on the southern part of the village, make a left out of here."

"Thanks, Madam."

"Good luck, Fred! Come visit me with good news!" She called to me as I left the bar.

I turned left, just as she'd said. This was headed towards the Shrieking Shack. But if he was in the southern part, yes, I should head left past the Post Office, in the opposite direction of the Shack. I could see the tops of the homes in the village. It was a bit odd to be in Hogsmeade with it still so deserted. Guess that's what happened when it was mid-morning on a Sunday. Now then, Zonko was Number 73 Centaur Street, so I think I have to go three streets off High Street, yep, then number 73. I walked up to the door, intending to ring the doorbell, then thought better of it. If he was a former joke shop owner, he had to have tampered with the bell. Knocking was a better option. I could hear someone coming towards the door, seconds later, the door opened to Mr. Zonko himself.

"A Weasley twin! What a surprise. Do come in! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"A business call, actually, if you don't mind, Mr. Zonko."

"Ah, I was hoping that it would be for that reason. Well, let's make ourselves comfortable, then, I'll get the tea started."

* * *

I was a little hesitant to go back to the flat that evening. It had been a long time since George and I had gotten into a fight like that. I half expected him to be at Angelina's, avoiding me for as long as possible. No such luck. As soon as I entered the shop, there was George, sweeping.

"Fred! I'm...I'm sorry...look, can we talk about this?" He's never had to apologize to me before- I'm usually the one that crosses the line.

"Yeah, let's go upstairs."

"No, we need to do this now. Because you were right, I was being selfish. I jumped to conclusions too quickly. We just...we'd never talked about being apart before. Obviously we'll have to at some point, but it just seemed so soon. And I couldn't...I couldn't think about it. Of course you wouldn't be moving out right away, and of course Angelina could live here when- if – you do move out. We should definitely do the store in Hogsmeade, and you're right, this is a good time, and Zonko's would be better, and I'm so sorry, Fred, I'm sorry we got in a fight, I just...I'm sorry." I had never seen him like this. He kept shifting the broom back and forth and wouldn't look in my eyes.

"Well...this is too awkward. Look, I forgive you. I'm glad that we got that out, you know. Now we're, you know, ugh, screw it, just come and hug me."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, life got in the way of writing again. This is just a short chapter right now- I'll have more later tonight, but I wanted to get something up for you all! Thanks for your patience, just a few chapters yet to go now.**

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It only took about three weeks for everything with the store to become finalized. Zonko's would officially become Weasley's Wizard Wheezes on October 18th, the date, as I was told by the lovely Professor McGonagall, of the first Hogsmeade visit of the season. George and I had another minor spat over the opening date, he thought we should open a few weeks before hand to ease ourselves into things, but I reminded him that most of the business for Hogsmeade came from Hogwarts students, so opening ahead of time would waste money. While George and I got everything set up in the Hogsmeade branch, Verity would be running the Diagon Alley store with Seamus, whom we'd hired a few weeks ago, and who had immediately taken to the job. We had not, however, decided upon how we'd split time between the two branches. This would certainly be a growing-up experience for the both of us.

Mum decided, as she does, to hold yet another party for George and I, as well as for Hermione. While she assured us that it would be more like a "small get together," all three of us knew better, and we therefore showed up at the Burrow with a slight bit of concern. Hermione opened the door, and hurried in, dragging me behind her, evidently wanting to just deal with the party go-ers all at once, instead of easing herself in. But there weren't people squished tightly together in the house, instead, there was only Ginny, hurrying down the stairs, hurriedly twisting her hair into a bun at the base of her neck.

"Oh, good, you guys are here. That means that she can stop yelling at me for being late. Everyone's out back." She glanced at Hermione's fingers, which were laced with mine. "Oh, good, he hasn't messed up again." She winked at me and threw her arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Come on, she'll have a heart attack if we wait out here much longer."

Mum actually had kept to her word. Outside were only three or four tables, and a small tent covering them, lit with fairy lights. Music played from somewhere in the garden. George made a bee-line for Angelina, who was sitting with Katie, Cormac, Alicia, Lee, and Oliver, who had obviously taken a break from training for the weekend. Neville, Luna, Cho, Harry, and Ron sat at the next table over. The next table, shockingly, held McGonagall, Hagrid, Kingsley, Bill, Fleur, and a few of the other Order members that I knew by sight but not by name. Also seated at that table were two people that I knew I'd seen before, but couldn't place them. They looked so familiar...

"Oh, good, you're finally here!" Mum came over, hugging both myself and Hermione. "Well, what do you think?" She asked gesturing over the garden.

"Mrs. Weasley, it's..." Hermione trailed off, apparently lost for words. "It's perfect." Her eyes wandered the tables, but she snapped back to attention when mum talked again.

"For the last time, Hermione, by all means, please call me Molly! And tell Harry the same thing. You're both practically family-" She stopped when she caught the look on my face. "Oh, Fred, even if she wasn't dating you, she'd be family. She gets a sweater every year, doesn't she? It feels so stiff and formal for you both to be calling me Mrs. Weasley all the time." Her eyes softened when she looked back down at Hermione. "But I'm glad you're so pleased. I knew that you didn't want anything big."

"Mum! George and I constantly tell you we don't want big parties, but you always throw them for us!" Hermione giggled at my outburst. She knew that I secretly loved all the attention I got from my mum's parties.

"Yes, but when Hermione says she doesn't want something big, she means it." I saw Harry and Ron talking to the couple I couldn't place. It was a short exchange, and then they were all walking towards us. Hermione was still slightly glazy eyed at the effort mum had put forward for her.

"Hey, love." I squeezed her hand to get her attention. "Do you know who those two people with-"

"Mum?" The sound barely escaped her lips as she finally noticed the people who were now almost dead in front of her. I looked at the couple again, and then I figured out why they seemed so familiar. Not only had I met Hermione's parents in Diagon Alley before, but she was also the perfect combination of them both- she had her father's warm brown eyes, but her hair clearly came from her mother. "Dad?" Again, she barely made an audible noise with the name. She looked questioningly at myself, Harry, and Ron in turn. I shrugged, I had no idea they would even be here. Harry and Ron both looked quite pleased with themselves, though.

"Hello, sweetheart. These two boys tell me that you have a lot to tell us."Hermione was crying and in her mother's arms before I could even take in what had happened.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I originally intended the 16 and 17 to be together, but as I said before 16, I wanted to get something up for you all quickly. But hey, I promised that I'd have more later tonight! Hope you all enjoy :)**

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I didn't actually see Hermione for most of the rest of the night. She and her parents had a lot to catch up on. I got Ginny to explain to me that Harry and Ron talked to some Ministry head and got someone with a little more experience in memory charms to restore the Grangers' memories. The boys had figured that with so much changing in her life, Hermione's need for her parents was stronger than ever, and had wanted to surprise her.

We eventually pushed the D.A. table and the Quidditch table together, and started a huge game of Exploding Snap. So far only four people had been burned. But hey, the night was still young.

"Hey." I snapped back to attention from my observation spot at the end of the table. Ginny was sitting across from me. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Nah, it's okay. Was trying to seem like I was still involved here, but, you know, wasn't doing such a good job. What's up?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm happy for you." I gave her a questioning look. Sure, Ginny was the only girl in the family, and therefore had more girl-like tendencies, but she was rarely all touchy-feely talking about feelings. "You seem like you're really getting your life together. I mean you both do," she nodded her head in the direction of George, who was talking to Lee, with Angelina nuzzled into his side. "But, well, you were always the one mum was concerned about. George was always the one that stopped you from over doing the limits. George was always the one that seemed like he genuinely thought things through before doing them- you know, had a plan in life. Mum was always scared that George would get his life figured out and you'd be sleeping on his couch for years." I laughed at this, that had always kind of been a thought that had occurred to me. "But you grew up a lot during the war. And these past few months have proved that you do have a plan. It just took you a while to realize it. I'm glad that you've learned to fight for what's really important to you, Freddie." She looked at me so seriously, in that way that only a little sister could.

"Aw, come here, you." She stood, predictably expecting a hug, which I obliged. But, well, it's me. We can't have a heart to heart and have it end too seriously.

"Ah, Fred, stop!" I had twisted her in the hug into a half nelson and was giving her a noogie. But Ginny was always the one that should have followed in our footsteps. She twisted out of my grip, jumped onto my back, and returned the noogie, laughing maniacly.

"Ginny! Fred! Really, will you ever grow up?" Mum said exasperatedly. Ginny jumped down from my back, looking sheepish. I however, couldn't pass up the opportunity. I picked Ginny up, threw her over my shoulder, and started running around the garden.

"Never!" I shouted over my shoulder. Ginny was half heartedly beating her fists against my back, laughing.

"Now what kind of impression is that to make on Hermione's parents?" She asked when I finally set her down.

"Eh, they should know exactly what kind of person I am before giving her permission to continue on with me." I glanced over at the table. Hermione's face was tinged pink, I had heard her laughing through the whole thing. Her mum looked quite amused, her father, not so much. Ah well. Ginny and I started making our way back to the tables, and when we reached theirs, Mr. Granger stood up.

"So you're the young man that my daughter is so taken with?" He seemed a lot more imposing then when I'd first seen him.

"Yes, sir. Fred Weasley, sir, a pleasure to finally meet you." I stuck my hand out, and he shook it, looking at me slightly confused. See, it's not the first time I've met a girlfriend's father. Certainly the first time I've met one so important, but that's not the point. Mr. Granger sat back down next to his wife, and gestured to the seat next to Hermione for me to sit. I took the chair, letting my arm hang loosely around the back of Hermione's chair. She shifted closer to me, snuggling into my shoulder. "Mrs. Granger, a pleasure." I stuck my hand out to her, and she shook it as well.

"So Hermione tells us that you and your twin have your own business?" Mr. Granger turned to me.

"Yes, sir. A wizarding joke shop, though we do sell a defensive line. We just re-opened our flagship store in the middle of June, and yesterday signed the rights on a new location close to Hogwarts, in the village the students visit during the year."

"And do you do fairly well with this joke shop?" Ah, everyone was always so skeptical about the financial success of a joke shop.

"Oh, Daddy, I've already told you, Fred and George have to do some spectacular magic for their jokes." Hermione said almost lazily.

"That wasn't what I was asking Fred, dear. What I was asking is if he was a financially stable young man with his joke shop."

"Well, sir, my brother and I were a little unsteady after the war first started, you see, our flagship location was attacked and we had to close, for, well, obvious reasons. But since our re-opening, I would say that we are doing quite well, and with this second location, I'm almost certain our success will increase. I would be more than happy to show your our record books, if you'd like to see, sir." I had to suppress a laugh. His look of shock was identical to Hermione's.

"No, no, son, I'm sure that won't be necessary. I just want to make sure that- my word, what is that?" I turned in my seat to see a large lightning bolt floating through the air toward us. Upon further inspection, I realized it was a cake, which meant-

"Oh no, it's not, is it? I've lost track of days, but no, he would have mentioned if we'd forgotten, wouldn't he?" Hermione's eyes searched mine.

"Let's see, Katie's party was on the 8th, and that was about three weeks ago, no, it's the 30th, day before. Mum just probably wanted to do everything now since we're all together."

"Oh, but I don't have a gift for him yet, oh no, Fred, I had a plan and everything!"

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me what you need to get and I'll pick everything up on my way home tonight." She threw her arms around my neck.

"Oh thank you! I would have felt so awful if I didn't have anything for him, he deserves something extra special this year!" Mr. Granger cleared his throat loudly.

"Care to explain, dear?" Mrs. Granger directed at Hermione.

"Harry's birthday, Mum. It's tomorrow, but I'd completely forgotten what with deciding on school and everything. Fred lives over his shop, and it's right in the center of Diagon Alley. The gifts I had for Harry, Fred will be able to get on his way home. Though I do wish that your mum had told us she'd be doing his birthday tonight, I would have made sure to bring something. Oh well, come on Fred, let's go, they're going to start without us!" She grabbed my hand and started to drag me over to the two tables we'd pushed together. I threw a glance over my shoulder, and saw Mrs. Granger lean into Mr. Granger as Hermione had leaned into me. She said something to him, and I saw his eyes soften as he nodded, looking at us. I hoped that was a good sign.

After a rousing chorus of happy birthday, and some delicious cake, everyone that didn't live at the Burrow started to pack up. I made my way over to Hermione and her parents to say goodnight and to get the list of presents for Harry.

"So, Daddy? I know you didn't get to talk for long, but..." Hermione's voice trailed off. I was conveniently hidden behind the oak tree. I knew her parent's approval was important to her.

"I think that he seems like a very self assured young man. And he seems to care a good deal about you." There was a gigantic pause.

"What your father is trying to say is that we like him very much. But what is more important is that you like him. Which it is incredibly obvious that you do. He seems like he'll more than take care of you dear, and your safety and your happiness are our main priorities." I smiled to myself. Quickly, I walked five paces away, staying behind the tree, but putting myself back towards the thinning crowd of people. Then I turned back and headed towards them again.

"Do you promise that you only have my daughter's best interests at heart?" Mr. Granger asked as he shook my hand.

"Absolutely, sir."

"Then you have my blessing." Hermione beamed up at me.

"We'll be waiting over for you by the gate." Mrs. Granger said to her daughter. She turned to me and gave me a hug. "I apologize for my husband. These past few weeks have been a bit difficult, and I think he would have liked to have had his baby girl to himself for a little longer." I nodded understandingly. That was one of the reasons that Mum had made us all stay at the Burrow for the weeks after the war. I watched as Mr. and Mrs. Granger walked off towards the gate before turning to Hermione. She had tears in her eyes.

"They really like you." She whispered. "I'm so glad that they really like you." I laughed in spite of myself. It was such a Hermione thing to say. She looked up at me, and started laughing, too. "I'm going to go with them and be home until I have to leave for school again. They need some help adjusting and, honestly, I've missed my bed. But I'll see you tomorrow- George said everyone is to come to your flat for Harry's birthday. And you have to promise me not to get all distant again, because we won't be as close." I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me, resting my chin on her head.

"I swear to you, Hermione Granger, I will never make that mistake again."

"I love you, Fred." I almost didn't understand her at first, since she was talking into my chest. I pulled away from her slightly, and leaned down, placing a kiss on her lips. As I pulled away, I whispered back.

"I love you, too, Hermione." I straightened, pretending to suddenly be serious. "Now what do you need for Harry?"


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So this chapter is nice and long, but fair warning, it's a bit choppy. It was again one of those where it was necessary for the transition, but, well, I'm not good at transitions. :D Just one chapter and the epilogue left! Thank you all so much for making this a wonderful first publishing experience for me. As always, thank you so much for the alerts, favorites, and reviews! They make my day. -Shane**

* * *

We celebrated Harry's birthday with a "kids only" party, and though there weren't many people, I've never seen our flat so packed with life. The highlight, by far, was making the poor bloke cry- we'd all chipped in to buy him a new Firebolt, Ginny had mentioned how he was missing his old broom desperately.

But as the day closed and July turned to August, and the various party go-ers left to their respective homes, George and I sat at the counter, planning the Hogsmeade branch.

"So, I think that the most important thing to plan right now is how we'll be splitting our time between the two branches. I mean, obviously, you'd be running the branch, for this year, at least, whenever there was a Hogsmeade trip. But how do you want to divide it?"

"Well, I was thinking, for the first month, at least, that we both dedicate full time to the Hogsmeade branch. I mean, Seamus and Verity will be running the Diagon Alley shop while we set up, why shouldn't we let them run it a little longer?" George nodded in agreement. "After the first month, though, well..." I trailed off. This was the part I was dreading, because it involved the inevitable split.

"Willing to hear my idea?" I nodded eagerly. "I say we alternate. Alternate employees weekly, at least for the first year. So you'd be with Verity in Diagon Alley one week, with Seamus in Hogsmeade the next, with me in Hogsmeade after that, and so it continues. At least, until we can get a few more employees. Which, you know, we'll need at some point."

"I think that's a great plan. And Zonko did give me the addresses of his old clerks, we could always owl them. I think they were all still in the village." George nodded, and I took that to mean that we were done for the night. I started packing up the plans, while George took two pieces of the leftover cake that mum had given us.

"So have you talked to Hermione about the whole going to school thing?" George eyed me over his milk glass.

"No. Right now she's really focusing on being with her parents, so we're giving each other a bit of space. Just a bit." I added quickly when I saw George's look. "I messed up with that once, I'm not going to do it again. She said that she'd come visit when she comes shopping, though. And she wants me to come have dinner with her parents at some point later. I think it's good right now to just be able for both of us to sort our needs out. She needs to work on her relationship with her parents, I need to work on this store. I made her promise to come to dinner with me, alone, before she leaves, though."

"It's going to be weird, isn't it? I mean, I heard McGonagall saying to Mum last night that she was going to be asking some students to help re-build the areas of the castle that haven't been fixed yet."

"Yeah. I'm sure Ginny will get into that. Probably Luna, too. Hey, you think that Luna and Neville will last through this?" I'd forgotten that they'd be going through this separation, too.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd say that their odds are more favorable than yours."

"No offense taken."

* * *

Two weeks passed and the business was, well, booming. George and I ended up having to split our time between the two stores, it became clear that even with the second location opening up by the school, kids wanted to have a good stock before they left.

"Fred! Do you have those love potions ready?" Seamus stuck his head round the door of the backroom.

"Top shelf, on the left. Almost done this batch of Pimple Eraser, too."

"Perfect. Oh, and George told me to tell you that Hermione will be here around 2."

"Thanks, Seamus." I had been a little hesitant when we first hired him, but he was proving to be incredibly useful. Though his abilities with the potion making portion of the business were, well, lacking, he proved deftly helpful in all sorts of explosive pranks, and was a good people person.

I finished ladling the Pimple Potion into bottles and brought them out to be stocked. You'd have thought that we'd just opened the shop, with the amount of kids in it.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd emerge from your hidey-hole back there. Seamus give you the message?" George came over, stacking the bottles after I'd counted them.

"Yep. What time is it?" I'd left my watch upstairs.

"5 of. You might want to wait outside, I don't think she'll be able to find you in this crowd."

Sure enough, I met Hermione, Ginny, and Luna right by the front doors, and they each looked very relieved to not have to enter the crowded shop.

"The shop still doing well, then?" Luna asked in her typically dazed voice.

"Yes, ma'am. Hopefully the new one will do half as well. So what do you ladies still need?"

"Just a trip to Flourish and Blotts. There wasn't much else on our lists this year, just new Potions materials and books." Ginny answered.

"Good. Because I have a surprise for you all."

"Is this a typical Fred surprise that will have us all regretting we trusted you?" Hermione eyed me skeptically.

"No, no pranking involved what so ever. But come on, let's finish your shopping first."

Ten minutes later, we left Flourish and Blotts, each of the girls' new cauldrons stacked to the brim with books.

"So? What's this surprise then, Fred?" Ginny's nerves were always shorter after a shopping day. It wasn't something she was good at, much to mum's dismay.

"Why, we're standing just across the street from it, I'm surprised that no one's ruined it yet." The girls turned around simultaneously and gasped, smiling giddily.

"Florean is back!" Hermione exclaimed!

"Not quite. It's his nephew that's taken over the business, but the ice cream is still just as good. Come on, my treat." We trooped across the street. The girls snagged a table while I went and ordered inside. As I came back out, I saw Neville walking in.

"Hi, Fred, mind if I join you all?" Neville really had grown up a lot in this past year. He had such an easy confidence about him now, it was almost disconcerting.

"Not at all." I waited while Neville got his own sundae, then walked out and joined the girls at the table.

We chatted comfortably while we ate our ice cream. As soon as everyone was finished, Ginny stretched and looked at Luna's watch (she never bothered to wear one herself).

"Oh, sorry, I've got to run! I promised I'd watch Victoire this evening! Have fun you guys!" And with that, she left, charming her heavy cauldron to levitate behind her.

There was a pleasant silence that followed Ginny's slightly hasty exit. Then a thought popped into my head.

"Hey, what does she mean she told Fleur she's watching Victoire tonight? Fleur just asked George and I this morning if we'd do it and we said yes! But they're not going out until much later." I tapped my finger on my chin in thought.

"Er, well, you see..." Hermione squirmed, slightly uncomfortable. Luna picked up for her.

"We asked Ginny to make an excuse to leave so that we could talk to the both of you alone." Ah Luna. Never afraid of being blunt.

"Any particular reason?" Neville looked between the two girls questioningly.

"Well, you probably heard McGonagall at the party talking about how parts of the castle are still in terrible disrepair, and how she'd be asking a group of students to help with the re-building." Hermione paused, Neville and I both nodded.

"McGonagall has asked both of us, and Ginny as well, if we would like to be part of this group, and we all agreed immediately, of course. We thought that the re-building process would be taking place during our free periods, but as it turns out..." She trailed off, clearly hoping Hermione would pick up.

"McGonagall wants us to come to school two weeks early. We're supposed to leave on The Hogwarts Express on August 18th. And we'd already told her yes before we'd found this out." Hermione rested her head in her hands. I shot a look at Neville, who looked entirely unconcerned with this whole situation. I didn't really have a reason to be concerned, but I knew why Hermione was upset- it cut her remaining time with her family, whom she'd so recently re-gained, and her friends, whom she'd be leaving for the first time, very short. Neville seemed to get that Hermione was taking this news harder than Luna.

"Well, that's, uh, news. Er, Luna, would you mind going for a walk with me? I think it's best if we talk about this separately." Not the best way to put it. I watched Luna walk away, her eyes very watery. I switched seats so that I was sitting across from Hermione. I pulled her hands away from her face and held them across the table.

"There's still two weeks. I know that that doesn't seem like much time, but it's two whole weeks. And I guarantee you that Harry will be spending as much time with Ginny as you'll be spending with your parents, so I'm sure you two will find a way to split your remaining time."

"I don't want to spend my last two weeks ping ponging between Harry and Ron and you and my parents and the rest of my friends and your family, Fred! I know that it's not like I'm leaving permanently, but I just thought that we'd have more time than this. I had everything planned so well, my time divided so well, but now I feel like I'm planning a life time of hello's and goodbye's into two weeks. And I don't want to leave anyone out, most importantly, you. I appreciate that you're so willing to take a back seat while I spend time with the other people that I'll miss, but I'm going to miss you too."

"Yes, but Hermione, you'll see me more often. There are how many Hogsmeade trips during the year? Four? At least? That's four more times you'll see me then the rest of them."

"No, it's not, Fred!" Her outburst scared me a little. "Yes, I'll see you, but how much time will I actually get to spend with you, Fred? You'll be working in the shop, and it will absolutely be busy since Hogsmeade is busiest during our trips. And Harry and Ron and Neville are all coming to the village during Hogwarts trips, since two of them have girlfriends who are going to be at school, too. You're acting so casually about this, pushing for me to spend time with everyone but you! Yes, I know that I'll be leaving them, too, but of all people, my parents understand how important it is that I see you. Ginny said your mum has already planned a big going away party on the 17th, and I was hoping to spend my last night with you, and I'm just so stressed and sick of feeling like this!" She seemed close to tears.

"Hey." She kept her eyes firmly on the table. I leaned across and lifted her chin so she was forced to look at me. "Hey. I understand how you're feeling. As soon as you start to feel back in control and organized, something else is thrown at you. And it's not fair, because you felt like that all last year while you were out with Harry. And I know that you need organization. But I promise you, we'll figure this out. And ignore my mum. We'll go out to dinner, just the two of us, go to the party for a bit, then we can go off and do whatever you'd like. But right now, let's work on getting you organized again."

We spent the next half hour working out a schedule. While she hated having to have a schedule just to spend time with the people she loved, she agreed it was the best way. By this point, I'd so gone over the allotted time for my lunch break, but no one had come screaming for me, so I didn't worry. Hermione, on the other hand, did.

"Oh shoot, how long have you been out of the store?"

"About an hour and half. Not a big deal, though."

"Oh, yes it is, Fred, I didn't mean to keep you from work this long, oh, George is going to kill me, you need to go!"

"But-"

"We'll talk later, tell George I'm sorry for keeping you." She stood, ducking down to give me a quick kiss, before levitating her own cauldron and starting to walk down the street. Suddenly she turned quickly, facing me again. "I really do love you, Fred."

"And I you, Hermione." I responded, though she was already half way down the street at that point. I sighed, standing and heading back to the store. Really, why did she have to be so responsible?

* * *

"So, Ginny told me about leaving early. Everything going to be okay?" George asked as we were cleaning up later that night.

"I think so. I'm trying to take things one day at a time. It'll be a growing experience, that's for sure."

"I think it already has been for you, Freddie."


	19. Chapter 19

The next week passed in a blur. Hermione came round our flat for dinner one night, and I saw her at the Burrow another, but she spent the rest of her time with the other people she needed to see. I don't think she realized it when we'd done her little schedule, but I still pushed for her to be spending more time with those people than with me. It wasn't because I wanted to push her away, or anything like that, but because I knew how she'd feel if she didn't do her best to spend as much time as possible with all the people that mattered to her. In the end, she was spending the most time with the people who wouldn't be able to visit Hogsmeade- her parents, Katie and the other girls, the responsible members of the Weasley family.

While Hermione was enjoying her remaining two weeks, I was hating them. Every where I turned, someone was asking how I was feeling, if I was stressed, if I wanted to talk about her leaving. It was driving me bonkers. I, by nature, am not someone who enjoys talking about their feelings, and the fact that mum kept walking about looking like she was about to spike my Butterbeer with truth serum was enough to drive anyone up a wall. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one she was doing it to. The night we'd all gone to the Burrow, when I went to hide from her, I literally ran into Harry, who was fleeing the same situation.

"This whole thing is driving your mum up a wall." He'd whispered to me when he'd yanked me into Ron's old bedroom.

"Yes well, my mother is driving me to jump out a window. You'd think she was sending her entire family off for the first time."

"In a way, she is, though, isn't she? She's letting go of Ginny, and Hermione, who is now just as much of a daughter to her as I am a son, for the first time since the war ended. Most importantly, after this year, you'll all be gone, won't you? I mean, all have real jobs, not needing to live under her careful watch anymore." He'd paused. "But still, she could calm down with all the chats about how I'm feeling. You'd think I was going to take on Voldemort again."

Harry became the unlikely ally. He and Ginny really were a good match. He was quick to act, but almost always acted on good instincts, and did mostly think things through before doing anything. He had a very calming influence on Ginny, who had developed a tendency to be hot headed and never have a plan before acting. She was brilliant, my sister was, but patience was never her virtue.

* * *

Hermione's final two days finally arrived. She spent all day Thursday with her parents, as planned, and met me at the flat at precisely 11:00 on Friday.

"So, what's the plan?" She hadn't even set foot in the room yet and she already had that "we need to cram things in" glint in her eye. I pulled her through the open door.

"There isn't one." I sat down on the couch, pulling her down next to me. She went rigid.

"What do you mean, there isn't one? This is my last day, Fred! The last time you'll see me for two months, and you have no plan?"

"Well, I do. It's called the relaxation plan." She looked at me skeptically. "Come on, Hermione, you've been spending every waking moment these past two weeks running at full speed. So today, we are doing whatever you'd like to do, at whatever speed, and you are going to _enjoy_ your last day instead of freaking out about it." She stared at me. "So, what's first?"

"First?"

"Yes, first. You're picking what we do today, dear. Whatever your heart desires, that's what we'll do." Her cheeks colored slightly.

"Would it be completely ridiculous if I said that I wanted to spend the day doing nothing but being with you?" I smiled.

"That's exactly what I'd hoped you'd say."

And so we spent the day doing nothing but being in each other's company. We stayed in the flat for the majority of it, curled up on the couch, she reading me her muggle fairytales, sipping on tea. Then there was a walk through the closest park, and more tea.

* * *

"Fred?" We were back on the couch, me going over the most recent business plans for Hogsmeade, she reading one of her new textbooks.

"Mm?"

"Where are we going for dinner?"

"It's a surprise. But, what time is it?"

"Around dinner time."

"Then we should go get ready, should't we? Whatever you plan to wear to the party will be fine for dinner." She didn't move, just continued to stare at me, skeptic, questioning, one eyebrow raised. "What are you waiting for? You can change in George's room. Meet me back in here in 15 minutes."

Back in my own room, I changed into a nicer pair of jeans and a green sweater that she'd admired before. I then went back to the kitchen, pulling the picnic basket out of its hiding place and packing it with drinks, cheese, bread. I snagged the old blanket that used to be on George's bed at the Burrow, and threw in a few candlesticks for good measure.

"Is this okay? Most of my things are already at the Burrow, I'd kept a few choices for dinner and the party with me." I turned to face her, and could instantly feel the color rising in my cheeks. She looked beautiful. A simple pale pink skirt, paired with a white sweater. She'd pulled her hair back into a neat plait. Nothing fancy, but perfectly Hermione.

"You look beautiful." Now it was her turn to blush. I glanced at my watch again, we didn't want to wait too much longer. "All ready to go, then?" She nodded, came to my side.

"What's all that for?" She asked, glancing at the basket and the blanket.

"You'll see." And with that, we plunged into the darkness.

* * *

The sound of the ocean greeted my ears.

"Fred? Where are we?" Hermione looked glanced around, but was quickly slipping her feet out of her shoes to rest them in the sand.

"On the beach by Bill's place. Look, you can see their chimney." I pointed in the distance. While she was momentarily distracted, I lay out the blanket and lit the candles. When she turned around, she let out an audible gasp.

"Oh, Fred."

"You like?" She sank down onto the blanket, immediately wrapping her arms around me.

"Of course." She was talking into my chest again, but it didn't matter.

As calm as I'd been acting the past few weeks, I wished time would freeze right now. We didn't even eat any of the food I'd brought. We just sat there.

"Fred, who's turn was it?"

"In what?"

"The game? 20 Questions? I think it was my turn. Because I think the last thing was when I made you ask me about my feelings towards you. Yes, it's my turn now." She nodded self satisfactorily, and, regrettably, so regrettably, pulled herself away from me so that she was facing me. "What made you fall for me?" She liked the hard hitting questions, this girl did. I took a deep breath.

"You want my real, true, honest answer?" She nodded. "I don't really know. Just one day you were, well, different. You were less of that little girl that was always hanging around with my brother and more of a really bright, really capable young witch. I never gave you credit for that. So I guess that's what made me fall for you: your brain. Your capability to remain so calm when there was so much chaos around you." I paused. "Wow. That was really poorly worded, I'm sorry." She laughed.

"Okay, your turn." I was dying to turn the question back on her, but that wasn't creative enough.

"Why did you always put yourself down?"

"It was never intentional! But, well, put yourself in my situation. I had a crush on Ron for at least three years without him ever returning any sort of affection. Then my feelings transferred to you, the older brother who was suddenly acting so much kinder to me, then you disappeared, left school, and Lavender wasn't a problem anymore, and my feelings for Ron were coming back, but he still didn't notice me as much as I wanted him to. And everyone was always complimenting me on my brains, my abilities, which I'm quite proud of, and I worked hard to be complemented for, but every other girl was being complimented on their looks and..." She trailed off, but I couldn't stand it anymore, I leaned forward, kissing her fiercely.

She didn't expect it at first, it threw her off balance, but before she could fall I had my hand on her back, pulling her towards me, but letting her fall at the same time. She stiffened under me, slightly, so slightly, and she knew I wouldn't try anything, but still, I pulled away, staring down at her where she lay, so beautiful.

"But it's your abilities that trapped me. Your beauty was just a bonus." Even in the growing darkness, I could see her cheeks turn red. I sat up, pulling her with me. "We should probably get going, this party is being thrown for you." She groaned and threw herself back against me.

"I don't want to leave, Fred, I want to stay here forever."

"As do I, love, but unfortunately, you lot broke all the bloody Time Turners." She muttered something about not being able to ever freeze time, before grudgingly taking my hand and standing up, spinning into the enveloping darkness.

* * *

The party was lovely, truly. We ended up staying overnight at the Burrow, Hermione sneaking into my room once everyone else was asleep, falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms, pretending she wasn't leaving the next morning.

But morning came, so unfortunately, and everyone was up and running like chickens with their heads cut off.

"How is it that's we're only putting two people on the train but it's more disorganized than when we were putting the whole house on it?" I grumbled into my coffee.

"I couldn't tell you, but if we don't get going soon, Luna and Dean are going to be the only ones on the train." Harry grumbled back.

"GINEVRA! FOR THE LAST TIME, WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW! IT IS A PAIR OF QUIDDITCH SOCKS, I WILL OWL THEM TO YOU, STOP THIS BEHAVIOR!" Uh oh. Mum was at her wit's end.

"That's my cue. I'll get her, Molly." Harry sidled out of the kitchen while Hermione walked in.

"Oh, Hermione, dear, are you all set?"

"Yes, Molly, I just put my things into one of the cars."

"Well, there is no reason for you to be late because Ginny is having second thoughts about everything in life. Why don't you, Fred, and Ron go in the one car and Ginny, Harry, and I will follow in the other?" Hermione and I nodded and met Ron at the front step.

"Well."

"This is it, I guess." The ride to King's Cross had seemed unbearably short, and now the train was looming, but I could only see a few people on it. Luna and Neville were saying goodbye across the platform, and Harry and Ginny were hugging by the barrier. Mum and Ron had said their goodbyes and were waiting patiently for Harry and I.

"How long?"

"Two months, exactly. And I'll write you everyday. I'll make sure to slip a few exploding items in a few of the letters, just to keep you on your toes." I gave a very watery laugh. I was trying not to look in her eyes, because if I did I would lose it.

"I'll count on it." There was a pause. The conductor blew the warning whistle. "Hey." She reached up, forcing me to look into her eyes, which were resolutely stoic. "No running away?"

"No running away. No running off with someone better?" She laughed.

"No running off with someone better." She stood on her very tiptoes, her lips just barely connecting with mine. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer, obligingly deepening the kiss. The whistle blew again.

"Two months, Fred Weasley."

"Two months, Hermione Granger." She stepped onto the train, leaning down to me, kissing me lightly. "I love you, Hermione." The train started to move. I wanted to run with it, but I knew it would only hurt more. She leaned out of the side of the train.

"I love you more!" She yelled, smiling, waving, blowing kisses to everyone, her arm wrapped around Ginny, who was waving, crying. And the train was out of sight, and she was gone. For two months, she was gone, but she was happy, and I was happy, and life would continue.

* * *

**A/N: As a quick comment: I didn't go into detail about the goodbye party for two reasons, 1- I wanted this chapter to really be about Fred and Hermione as it's the last *real* chapter, and 2- half of this story has been parties. Thank you all so so much for taking this journey with me. Just the epilogue left now. **


	20. Epilogue

**Author's Note: Well, here it is everyone! The final chapter. To be honest, I could have gone on for pages longer, I had _planned_ to go on for pages longer in this epilogue, but I wrote the last sentence and decided that that was a perfect way to end it. Wanted to leave a bit to the imagination. Thank you so much for all of your support through this story. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it took a long time for me to ever even consider publishing something here, and the support I've received for this story means the world to me. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing! And now, without further (rather sappy) ado, I present, the final chapter of Your Life and Mine. -Shane**

* * *

EPILOGUE- 1 Year Later

Katie looked stunning. Hermione and Ginny were going a mile a minute on how all of the details of her dress did something or other to her body shape, but I don't speak girl, so I only know that she looked stunning. The dress was almost painstakingly simple, at first glance, but, as typical with Katie's clothes, had a bit of sparkle underneath. From what I'd actually understood of Hermione and Ginny's whispers, it was a satin gown, which clung to her form until it fell neatly at the waist. What was so magical about it was that bit of sparkle, hidden, until the sun hit her when she stepped outside. Woven into the fabric was a beautiful golden thread embroidery, which gave the gown a bit of an otherworldy glow. The effect was beautiful. She'd pulled her long hair into a neat ponytail, which curled a bit at the end, and had a few, small pieces of jewelry, all with sapphires or rubies instilled (she'd let me in on this bit. Told me she'd be representing both of her Quidditch teams at the wedding).

"George, close your mouth!" Mum whispered fiercely, hitting his shoulder. He'd been gaping since Angelina had walked down the aisle, and it was no surprise. The golden fabric of the bridesmaid dresses clung to the girls' frames, looking almost like liquid gold. Angelina's hair was loose and wavy, and I couldn't help but notice that she was sending a few very coy looks in George's direction. Who knows, we might have another wedding coming up sooner than we thought.

Still, no one looked more beautiful to me than Hermione had, as she descended the steps at the Burrow this morning. Even amidst all the chaos that comes with getting our entire family out of the house at one time, time seemed to stop at my first glance of her. She, similar to Katie, chose something simple, with a hidden glow. A pale pink dress, short, girly, simple, with tiny little sparkly bits along the hem.

"Is it okay, do you think? It's been since Bill's that I've been to a wedding, and Fleur picked that dress out." She'd twisted her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck, leaving just a few pieces loose to frame her face.

"I, uh, you look, um." I couldn't form a sentence.

"What he is trying to say, I think, is that you are a vision of loveliness, my dear, and that any man would be lucky to be on your arm for this most joyous occasion. And now he is trying to say that I should back away from you before he hurts me, but as he can't even form a sentence, I'm none too scared of him right now." George had then taken her hand, kissed it, and she giggled, forcing me to hit him. "Ow, un-necessary!"

I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present, where Percy, the officiant, was just getting on with things. Ugh, weddings were so _boring_. The only exciting bit was the bit at the end where they did all the unbreakable vow stuff, and the golden vines entwine them, and they kiss, and that, now that, is exciting. Somehow whatever Percy was saying was making all the girls surrounding me cry, but I just don't get it.

Finally the magical part of the ceremony happened, and with a few flourishes of his wand, Percy released two doves.

"Didn't expect them to release anything. Not much Katie's style, is it?" Cho asked as we walked from the ceremony space (what was once the nice open Quidditch field behind Katie's parent's house, and had been transformed into a traditional wedding space) into the house for "cocktail hour" (apparently a Muggle custom, her dad's idea, wanted a break between the ceremony and the reception, I don't get it, but more food).

"Nah, but definitely Cormac's." Ron responded, placing his hand protectively in the small of Cho's back. It was still a bit weird to see them together, personally, I thought that Cho would grow old with lots of cats and her grief for Cedric, but they fit together well.

"So," I turned to Harry and Hermione, "What exactly _is_ a cocktail hour?" Harry shrugged.

"Don't look at me, the only weddings I've ever been to have been strictly magical." Everyone turned as one to Hermione.

"Well, it's generally between the wedding and the reception to allow people to get to the reception space, or for it to be set up. Alcohol and appetizers for all!"

"Excellent." And as soon as we'd entered the Bell's house, it appeared that Hermione's explanation did not give it enough credit. Small tables lined every available wall in the rather large dining room, filled with foods from just about every corner of the world. The large bar, a permanent fixture of the living room, had every type of alcohol I'd ever imagined- and those I hadn't dared to even dream about.

"Well, while you lot drool over all this," George gestured to the room at large, "I'm going to go find Angelina so that I can drool over her." The girls rolled their eyes as one.

"Where to start?" I glanced down at Hermione, her arm linked with mine.

"I've always wanted to try Thai food." I nodded and we headed off, with a quick wave over my shoulder to the group.

"So how much of this do you think is what Katie wants, and how much do you think is what Cormac wants?" I asked.

"Well, certainly the number of people is Cormac. He likes a sense of grandeur. Everything being at home was probably Katie. All the Quidditch details is probably a combination of the two." She paused as we picked up plates. "So who's next, do you think, Angelina or Alicia?"

"Tough question. Lee will probably ask first, but I can see Leesh being a bit of a picky bride. They'd have a long engagement. Angelina on the other hand...she likes things simple. So even if George takes longer to pop the question, Angelina would still be the first married, I think." I stop and shake my head. "I just never thought that it would be _Katie_ first!"

"Yes, well, we also never thought that Neville would actually get the nerve to ask Luna out, that Ron and Cho would happen, or, for that matter this." she gestured to the two of us, smirking.

"True. Very true. You know, we've got our fair share of odd couples. Well, not odd. Unexpected. I blame the bride and groom. They started this madness." I winked at her. "But I wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
